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BY FORTUNE DU BOISGOBEY

t7 TO VaNDEW/TER §T

T^e Seaside Library, Pocket Ed itioa,|^^ued*^rffvvee!cT

'Ziilll[[iyp|m

i^HES

New York Fireside Companion.

Essemiallyi Papr for tie Honie Circle,

PURE, BRIGHT AND INTERESTING.

THE FIRESIDE COMPANION numbers among its contributors the best of
living fiction writers.

Its Detective Stories are the most absorbing ever published, and its spe-
cialties are features peculiar to this journal. 1 »

A Fashion Article, embracing the newest modes, prices, etc., by a noted
modiste, is printed in every number. * '.4

The Answers to Correspondents contain reliable information on every con-
ceivable subject.

TERMS:— The New York Fireside Companion will be sent for one year,
on receipt of $3: two copies for $5. Getters-up of clubs can afterward add
single copies at $2..50 each. We will ' be responsible for remittances sent in
Registered Letters or by Post-office Money Orders. Postage free. Specimen
copies sent free.

GEORGE MUNRO, Publisher, "

17 to 27 Vandewater Street, New York.

P. 0. Box 3751.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN

OR,

THE STEEL GAUNTLETS.

FROM THE FRENCH OF

F. DU BOISGOBEY.

* *

♦

NEW YORK:

OEORGE MUKRO, PUBLISHER,

17 TO 27 VaNDE WATER STREET.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by
GEORGE MUNRO,

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C.

F. DU BOISGOBEY’S WOEKS

CONTAINED IN THE SEASIDE LIBRARY (POCKET EDITION) :

UO. PRICE.

82 Sealed Lips 20

i04 The Coral Pin 30

264 Piedouche, a French Detective ... 10

328 Babiole, the Pretty Milliner. First half . . . 20

328 Babiole, the Pretty Milliner. Second half . . 20

453 The Lottery Ticket 20

475 The Prima Donna’s Husband 20

522 Zig-Zag, the Clown; or, The Steel Gauntlets . .20

.'v

.ft

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

CHAPTER 1.

The night is dark^ and the rain, which is falling in
torrents, dashes fiercely against the windows of an isolated
cottage at tlie end of the Boulevard Voltaire and very
near the Place du Tr6ne.

A cottage, not a villa, for it consists of but one story
and an attic — no court-yard, no terrace, nothing save a
board fence on the side next the street, and behind this
primitive inclosure an unkempt patch of grass bounded on
two sides by vegetable gardens.

The architect had not even taken the trouble to provide
a foundation, but had placed the structure flat on the
ground, as if it had been brought there already built.

It is occupied, however, for there is a light in one of the
windows of the lower story.

Who can live tliere? No capitalist, certainly, for his
money woulij not be safe there. A shopkeeper? No cus«
tomer would come so far to patronize him. Tlijs uninvit-
ing abode would best suit some old misanthrope, who
could hide himself there like an owl in his tower, or pos-
sibly i^ome impoverished family of the middle class that
is reduced by stern necessity to raising the vegetables for
their tiny dinner-pot.

At least, such was the opinion of the passers-by who
saw this structure standing like a huge bowlder in the
middle of the field, and so, too, thought the neighbors,
who scarcely knew the inmates of the shabby dwelling by
sight.

They were all greatly mistaken, however, and it would
only have been necessary for them to cross the threshold
of the cottage to see that appearances were, indeed, de-

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOIVN.

ceitful in this case, and that the dwelling was comforta-
bly, if not luxuriously, furnished.

The lighted window was that of a little drawing-room,
which contained a number of handsome arm-chairs of dif-
ferent sizes, to say nothing of a low Turkish divan, bright
with gay-colored cushions.

A gc(od fire blazed in the grate, though it was April,
-and the mantel bore, instead of the gilt clock affected by
retired grocers, a bronze statuette bearing the name of a
well-known artist.

The floor was covered with a Smyrna carpet, and por-
tieres of 6cru silk concealed the doors.

In the middle of the room stood a large square table
that did not harmonize very well with the rest of tlie fur-
niture--a real work-table strewn with large sheets of
drawing-paper, rulers, pencils and compasses.

And it was evidently there for use, not for ornament,
for a man sat perched on a stool at one side of it, bend-
ing over a model which he was, carefully copying.

Opposite him sat a young lady embroidering by the soft
light of a shaded lamp.

The man was at least fifty years of age, with thick, dark
hair streaked with silver, a long gray beard, and large,
brilliant black eyes that lit up a rather careworn face.

The young lady was beautiful, tliough her thoughtful
and somewhat virile beauty was of a type that made her
look older than she really was to a casual observer; but
her twenty years were unmistakably imprinted on her face,
which was as fresh as a spring flower, and np6n her form,
characterized by the supple roundness of early woman-
hood.

She worked on steadily, without lifting her eyes from
lier work, and the silence was broken only by tlie mutter-
ings of the storm which was I’aging without.

What weather!’’ she murmured at last, dropping her
work into her lap. I should be afraid if I were alone.
Do you notice how the house shakes? I really fear that
it will tumble down about our ears.”

It will last a month longer, I guess,” replied the
man, laughing, ’^Sand in less tlian a month my dear
Camille will be living in a handsome suite of rooms in a
fashionable part of the city; for, now I have secured the
means of introducing my patent, our fortune is made.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWJST.

So you tell me, father; but I have not yet succeeded
in accustoming myself to the idea that we are going to be
rich.’^

We are rich already, for I received this morning a
first installment of twenty thousand francs; and that is a
mere trifle in comparison with the entire amount my in-
vention will yield. You know that the entire number of
steam engines in the world is almost beyond computation,
and in a little while they will all be paying tribute to me,
for not one of them can do without the Monistrol con-
denser. And only to think that I had been working for
twenty years without any practical results whatever, when
I met this worthy Gemozac, who opened his purse to give
me the means of making a practical application of my
theory. I am no longer troubled by any fears of failure
now. But let me finish this drawing, which I must show
to my partner to-morrow morning. It is ten o’clock al-
ready, and when I have finished this work, 1 shall still
have to find a hiding-place for the crisp thousand-franc
notes I received to-day. I am so little in the habit of
having money that I don’t know where to put it. We
have no strong box here.”

Have you the money about you?” inquired Camille.-i«>'

Yes, here it is,” said Monistrol, drawing the money
from his breast-pocket and laying it on the table.

You had better lock it up in my wardrobe for the
night; but deposit it in some banking-house to-morrow, I
beg of you. I shall not know an easy moment while the
money is in our possession. This house is at the mercy of
the first thief tnat happens along; and if an attempt
should be made to murder us, no one would hear our
cries for help, for the Boulevard Voltaire is deserted at
night.”

^‘Not this evening, at least, my dear, for the ginger-
bread fair is in progress on the Place du Trone, and it
draws a crowd even in this beastly weather. Listen, you
can hear the music now.”

And in fact the wind did bring to their 'ears broken
snatches of music from the brass band that was playing
noisily in front of thejcircus tent.

Besides, before going up to my room, I shall barricade
the outside door,” continued Monistrol. Now go on

ZIG-ZAG, TILE CLOW^T.

wifch your embroidery, uxy child, while I finish my work.
It wdl’l not take me long.’’

The father and daughter resumed their occupations;
the father eagerly, the daughter half reluctantly.

Camille’s fingers moved the needle in and out, it is
true, but her attention was no longer on her work.

She was thinking of the brilliant future that was open-
ing before her, and of the peaceful, quiet life she was
about to leave; and she already began to think with re-
gret of the modest existence in which she had been so
happy, for the cares and responsibilities that accompany
w^ealth frightened her.

Camille had no ambition, and she was extremely nerv-
ous, so she found herself in much the same state of mind
as a man who is about to embark for an unknown coun-
try, but who would much prefer to remain in his native
village. Her overexcited imagination showed her only the
dangers of the voyage, and she had a vague presentiment
of approaching misfortune.

A light sound, an almost imperceptible cracking, made
her start.

One would have thought some person was moving cau-
tiously about in the adjoining dining-room, which was
separated from the little parlor only by a double portiere.

She was afraid to disturb her father, who was absorbed
in his work, and who had heard nothing; but, raising her
head, she looked and listened attentively.

At first, she perceived nothing unusual, but as the
sound ceased, and she was about to resume her work, she
thought she saw a hand glide between the two curtains
that draped the doorway.

Was it really a hand, that dark spot that had so sud-
denly appeared upon the white curtain? Camille doubted
it at first, though she was at a loss to explain this strange
discovery. She even thought that she must be the victim
of an optical illusion. The fire had burned itself to ashes,
and in the dim light of the shaded lamp it was difficult to
olearly distinguish objects at the further end of the room.

She tried to close her eyes, but could not, so irresistible
was the fascination that mysterious spot exercised over
her.

"Monistrol, who was sitting with his back to the door,
worked away at his drawing with unflagging zeal.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

By dint of persistent scrutiny, Camille finally succeeded
in distinguishing the fingers of the hand that had parted
the curtain — fingers as knotty and m'ooked as the claws of
a crab, while the thumb, which was widely separated from
the fingers, was of extraordinary length, and ended in a
long, hooked nail, like the talon of a vulture.

Just then, in the slight opening between the curtains,
Camille saw something she took for the blade of a dagger
glitter in the darkness.

'^Look, father^ she shrieked wildly, pointing to the
door.

On hearing this unexpected call, Monistrol hastily
turned, but he had not time to rise.

With a single bound — the bound of a panther — the man
who had been hiding in the dining-room sprung upon him.
One hand — the same gigantic hand Camille had seen —
seized the roll of bank-notes; the other clutched by the
throat the unfortunate inventor, who overturned the lamp
in his struggles to rise.

Camille sprung forward to defend her father, but the
thief repulsed her with a vigorous kick that sent her reel-
ing to the floor.

She did not lose courage, however, but sprung to her
feet almost instantly. By this time the room was en-
shrojided in darkness, and she could hear the sound of
scuffling and of labored breathing, but could see nothings

She finally succeeded in groping her way back to the
table, but found it would be necessary to get on the other
side of it to seize the wretch who was holding Monistrol
down. She succeeded in this, and then tried to seize the
thief by the coat; but it was of some smooth, slippery
fabric, upon which she was utterly unable to secure a
hold, though, strange to say, her fingers occasionally came
in contact with small but sharp excrescences that cut
and tore her hands terribl}^

The thief made no attempt to hurt her, however, his
object being, evidently, to overcome Monistrol’s resistance,
and make his escape with the money.

The struggle did not last long. Monistrol soon relaxed
his liold with a groan, and flinging him heavily to the
floor, the thief hastily fled.'

His work was accomplished. He had secured the twenty
thousand francs, and he thought only of making his es-

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOVm.

<3cTpe without paying any furtlier attention to the young
girl whom he supposed incapable of pursuing him.

He was mistaken, however. Camille supposed that her
father was only stunned, for a strong man seldom dies of
a fall, and the thief had used no weapons.

Follow me, father!” she cried. He shall not escape

us.”

And she rushed after the scoundrel, who had already
reached the hall.

He fled through the outside door, which he had left open
on his entrance, ran rapidly across the plat of grass that
lay between the liouse and the fence, cleared this last at a
bound, and flew up in the Boulevard Voltaire in the di-
rection of the Place du Trone.

This was exactly what Camille wished, for she said to
herself that she should certainly find policemen to arrest
the audacious rascal on the square where this fair was in
progress.

The great thing now was not to allovv him to distance
her. M. Monistrol, instead of rearing her like a fine
lady, had early taught her to help herself, so she had
good strong muscles, and not an atom of that foolish pride
which would make her unwilling to run through the
streets in her slippers, and with her hair streaming down
her back, and to show herself in this disarray to the crowd
around the circus tent, or the booths where ginger-bread
was sold.

The intense desire she felt to overtake the thief was due
not to grief at the loss of the money, but entirely to the
fact tflat her father needed it to perfect the invention
upon vvhich he based all Iiis hopes. She felt sure of being
able to recover it for him, and it never once occurred to
her that it would have been better for her to give her at-
tention to him than to save his little fortune. Sl>e even
imagined that he was already upon his feet, and about to
join her to aid in the arrest of the man she had not lost
siglit of, though he could run much faster than she could.

The rain had ceased, but the wind was blowing a gale,
and the numerous musicians who had sought shelter
during the late shower, were again filling the square with
the harsh braying of trombones and clashing of cymbals
that would have drowned her voice completely, even if she
attempted had to cry: ^^Stop thief!”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

The man ran s\viftl£_on, but whenever he passed a
street-lamp she could see him distinctly. He was a tall,
stalwart fellow, that is as nearly as she could judge, for he
was enveloped from head to foot in a long India rubber
coat.

She understood now how he had managed to escape
from her hold whenever she attempted to seize him.

This was no time for retrospection, however. The man
had reached the square, and instead of directing his course
toward the middle of it, he turned to the left, toward a
large building rudely constructed of planks.

Camille, who had also reached the square now, followed
him into this dark and deserted corner without stopping
to ask herself if the thief might not be lying in wait
there to seize and strangle her; and this danger was the
more to be dreaded from the fact that he had paused be-
side the rough wmoilen structure.

But Camille had gone too far to draw back.

Ah, wretch! I have you,’’ she cried, darting forward..

She was about to seize him when he suddenly disap-
peared. She heard the sharp click of a hastily closed
door, and then she understood. The Scoundrel belonged
to the company of acrobats that was performing in the
building he had just entered by the side door. Camille
could not follow him by the same road, but there was
nothing to prevent her from passing through the public
entrance, and securing the thief’s arrest.

I did not see his face,” she said to herself, ‘^but I am
sure I should recognize ids iiands.”

Without losing a second, she slipped between the build-
ing and a tent where they were selling macaroons, and
passing around the corner of the building, found herself in
the midst of a crowd that had gathered around a platform
upon which six musicians, dressed as Polish dancers, were
playing, and a woman in short skirts was walking to and
fro with a wand in her hand, like the fairy in a spectacular
drama.

The performance had begun, but probably the hall was
not full, for the ticket-seller was bawling at the top of his
voice: Walk in, gentlemen, walk in and see the last per-

formance of the celebrated Zig-Zag of the Beni-Dig-Dig
tribe. Buy your tickets here, gentlemen. General ad-

12 zig-zag/ THE CLOWK.

mission only twenty-five centimes. Eeserved seats fifty
centimes.”

The woman took up the refrain in a shrill falsetto,
boldly eying the crowd the while; but the pressing in-
vitation did not appear to have much effect, for the
loungers seemed in no haste to enter. Some were admir-
ing the fairy, who was a black-eyed brunette, with well
formed limbs, and really pretty in spite of her hard ex-
pression; others were teasing an enormous bull dog that
responded by barking furiously.

Camille, undaunted, forced her way through the crowd
and reached the entrance just as two young men, whose
attire indicated that tliey were gentlemen of fashion who
had come here merely for a lark, after dining at some
popular restaurant a long way from the Place du Tr6ne,
came near.

They paused in astonishment on perceiving Camille,
whose great beauty Was apparent, even in her present dis-
ordered toilet, and they hastily stepped aside to let her
pass.

She did so, but a few steps brought her to the doorway,
which was guarded by an old, toothless hag, who said to
her:

You have to pay ten sous for a reserved seat, my
little lady.”

Camille put her hand in her pocket, found nothing, and
made a despairing gesture on recollecting that she had neg-
lected to provide herself with some silver before starting
out to recover her father’s twenty thousand francs.

The old woman understood, and remarked, withasneer:

One can not see the show for nothing, my dear. Ask
these gentlemen to pay your way in.”

As she spoke, she pointed to the two young men who
were directly behind Camille.

Here is pay for three,” said the taller of the two gen-
tlemen, throwing a five franc piece in the money-box,
which was only about half full of copper coins.

Camille did not stop to thank him, but hastened on
without looking back to see if the two fine gentlemen
were following her. Vacant seats were plentiful, and
she went and seated herself on the first row of benches,
near a party of clerks and shop girls who were eating
oranges and talking very loud.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

The assemblage was a most disorderly one. The occu-
pants of the reserved seats were laughing noisily; the
other spectators, who were principally laborers, common
soldiers and nurses, were hooting and imitating the cock
and other animals.

But clear and shrill above all this, clamor ro>se cries of:

Zig-Zag, Zig-Zag! It’s Zig-Zag’s turn now. Where is
Zig-Zag? What has become of the rascal?”

Zig-Zag was evidently a great favorite with this fastidi-
ous audience, and Zig-Zag was late; Zig-Zag had failed to
meet his obligations as an artist.

Camille, almost stunned by the uproar, now realized
for the first time her folly in rashly rushing into this show?
The thief had certainly entered the building, but how
could she reasonably hope to find him in such a crowd.
She said to herself, however, that as he had a key to the
performers’ door, he must be a member of the troupe, and
she felt a strong suspicion that he was this very Zig-Zag
whose name was in everybody’s mouth.

Still, she began to be ashamed of being seen in a negligee
toilet that had already attracted the attention of her
neighbors, and to wonder if it would not have been wiser
in her to have remained with her father, whom she had
left still lying on the floor, and who, perhaps, had not yet
recovered from his fall; and in another instant, with the
impulsiveness that was her greatest fault, she resolved to
return home without delay. Turning to see if she would
have any difficulty in making her way to the door, she
saw that the young gentleman who had paid her admission
fee had taken a seat with his friend, in the second row of
benches, directly behind her, and she heard these words
interchanged in subdued tones:

She’s remarkably handsome. There’s no question
about it.”

I don’t deny it, but she looks to me very much as if
she were intoxicated.”

Just then the clown appeared upon the platform, and,
bowing awkwardly, opened a mouth that reached from
ear to ear, and said:

Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to continue the
exercises by a new feat of Monsieur Zig-Zag’s, the greatest
tumbler and acrobat in both hemispheres. This great

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWN.

artist, who has been iinavoidabl}^ detained by argent busi-
ness, is about to appear — ”

What business detained him?” cried several voices.

Circumstances over which he had no control com-
pelled him to take a drink,” replied the clown, with the
utmost gravity.

And he vanished, followed by the shouts of the spec-
tators..

This Zig-Zag can not be the man I am looking for,”
thought Camille. The thief would not have had time
to change his clothing. Still, I will see.”

Almost instantly Zig-Zag shot across the stage in a
series of somersaults executed with lightning rapidity, the
multitudinous spangles on his dress nearly blinding the
spectators in his quick evolutions.

^^It is he!” murmured the young girl. It was the
spangles on his costume that gleamed through the dark-
ness, and that tore my fingers when I tried to seize him.”

Camille still had tiny fragments of spangles under her
nails. She could no longer doubt.

She waited, however; she wanted to see his hands, feel-
ing sure that she could identify the thief by the unusual
length and peculiar shape of his thumb.

And on asking herself once again how the scoundrel
could have dressed so quickly, she recollected that he had
worn a rubber overcoat, which he had only to cast aside
to appear upon the stage in a costume suited to his role.

Consequently, there was nothing left for Camille to do
but to cry out as soon as he had ceased his somersaults:

It is he who robbed my father!” and she did not shrink
from the scandal and the danger that such an unexpected
interruption would be sure to create.

Zig-Zag paused at last, directly in front of her and
close to the row of argand lamps that served as footlights
in this rude theater.

Camille then perceived that Zig-Zag was masked like
the Harlequin of ancient Italian Comedy. A tiny black
silk mask concealed the upper part of his face, leaving
visible only his smiling mouth, white teeth, smoothly
shaven chin, well rounded neck, and a tiny bit of a rose-
colored tunic, thickly spangled with silver.

His eyes gleamed brightly through the holes in the
mask, and Camille fancied they were fixed upon her.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

But it was not the acrobat’s face that interested her.
She was looking for his hands, and ^e discovered, with
no slight amazement, that the iilnstrious tumbler Was
imprisoned, from his feet to his shoulders, in a' linen bag
spangled like the tunic. This bound his arms tightly to
his side, and concealed from sight not only his hands, but
his shoes, which must bear the marks of his race through
the mud from the Boulevard Voltaire.

Had he arrayed himself in this fashion to circumvent
his pursuer? Ho; she recollected that this accouterment
was indispensable to Zig-Zag in the execution of his great
feat, which consisted in leaping high in the air, coming
down perpendicularly on the top of his head, righting him-
self wdth a spring, only to repeat the same operation a
dozen times in quick succession.

The sack prevented him from making any use of his
hands, and in this consisted the chief difficulty of this
perilous exercise, invented, it is said, by the Ai'ssaoua, the
savage Arabs, who devour scorpions, glass, and the leaves
of the thorny cactus plant.

Any ordinary man would have broken his neck in at-
tempting to execute such a feat, but Zig-Zag escaped
without any injury to his spinal column, and bowed grace-
fully to the spectators, who applauded in the most frantic
manner — so frantically, indeed, that it was evident he
would be obliged to repeat the performance.

Camille hesitated an instant. This famous acrobat
must have more than one feat in his repertoire, and be-
fore the close of the performance he would doubtless re-
appear in a costume that would disclose to view his face and
hands; but she had no time to lose. Her father might
be seriously injured, and he certainly must be greatly
troubled by his daughter’s prolonged absence. Camille
must rejoin him as speedily as possible, so without further
hesitation, she sprung up and cried, pointing to the acro-
bat who had paused to take breath:

^‘Arrest him. He is a thief!”

This was quite sufficient to arouse a tern* pest. The audi-
ence unanimously espoused the cause of their favorite
artist, and from every part of the hall resounded yells of

Silence!” Put her out!” Make her apologize!”
^^She isaliar!” No; she’s mad. Take her to Charen-
ton !”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

The acrobat’s more enthusiastic champions even rose
and shook their fists at Camille, who surveyed them with
lofty scorn. She was very pale, but she was not afraid;
and she continued, in a clear ringing voice:

I tell you that man has just stolen twenty thousand
francs from my father! Search him, and the money will
be found upon him.”

This denunciation brought down another shower of in-
sults upon her.

Turn the liar out!” Your father hasn’t a penny, nor
you either!” Zig-Zag is richer than you are!” Send
for the police to take her to Saint-Lazare!”

Zig-Zag took no part in the disturbance. He could not
cross his arms, for his arms were not free, but he assumed
a disdainful attitude, and shrugged his shoulders scorn-
fully.

The tumult soon became so deafening that the fairy in
short skirts, whom Camille had seen on the platform out-
side, came in, and after addressing a questioning nod to
the clown, instantly disappeared, only to make her ap-
pearance a few moments afterward with a policeman,
to whom she pointed out the woman who had been the
cause of the disturbance.

The affair was becoming serious, and poor Camille per-
ceived now, when it was too late, that she had placed her-
self in a very dangerous position. She had left her father’s
house in a toilet that would not impress one in her favor,
and she now found herself in imminent danger of being
ignominiously expelled from the hall, or even of being
taken to the station-house.

To whom could she turn for aid in her extremity? Her
eyes met those of the young man who had paid her ad-
mission fee when she entered the hall. He Avas watching
her with more curiosity than benevolence in his gaze, but
he liad a kind face, and she thought she might appeal to
him.

^^Sir,” she said, with deep emotion, ^-'you doubtless
think very ill of me after the scene I have just caused; but
when you' know who I am, I am sure that you will not
refuse to undertake my defense. I swear that I have only
spoken the truth in accusing this man.”

Camille’s appeal was interrupted by the policeman who
laid his hand upon her arm.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWI^T. 17

^ Do Dot touch Die/’ said tlie girl, iudigDaDtly piisbiug
liiui aside.

‘^Take her out!” yelled the spectators, applaudiug
Tocife roil sly.

Zig-Zag, who had beeu watchiug the proceediugs froua
the platform, did not await the result, but makiug a low
bow, executed a double somersault that carried hiui off
the stage.

aui ready to follow you,” Said Camille, turuiug
quietly to the policemau. But do uot presume to touch
me.”

Impressed, doubtless, by the quiet diguity of her mau-
iier, the youug geutlemaD whose protection she had asked
decided to interfere.

will accompany you, mademoiselle,” he said, in a
low tone.

His companion smiled sneeringly, being very evidently
of the opinion that his friend’s conduct was absurd in the
highest degree; but he would not desert him, so they both
acted as escorts to Camille, who was following the police-
man out of the hall.

As they stepped out into the squaj’e, she turned to her
protector and said:

^‘1 reside near here, in the house of my father. Mon-
sieur Monistrol, and I should consider it a great favor if
you would accompany me home.”

‘^Monistrol!” ejaculated the young man, ^‘Jacques
Monistrol, the engineer.”

Yes, sir,” replied Camille. am Monsieur Monis-
trol’s daughter. Are you acquainted with him?”

I can not say that I am,” replied the young man,
^^but I shall soon be brought into frequent contact with
him, for my father entered into a sort of partnership with
him a few days ago,”

Indeed! Then you must be — ”

, Julien Gemozac, mademoiselle, and I bless the lucky
chance that enables me to be of some slight service to
you.”

Camille, surprised and delighted, scrutinized her cham-
pion more attentively, and noticed for the first time since
their meeting that M. Julien was really a very handsome
young man.

This son of the wealthy iron manufacturer looked , not

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWH.

unlike a young English nobleman, with his regular feat-
ures, fair curling hair, long silken mustache, white skin,
large blue eyes, and rather proud mouth, and this very
pleasing countenance wore an expression of mingled frank-
ness and good humor.

Julien, in his turn, greatly admired the more severe
beauty of Camille, and reproached himself for having mo-
mentarily mistaken her for an adventuress, though he
was certainly excusable for his mistake under the circum-
stances.

The friend who listened to this explanation said noth-
ing, but his rather mocking smile indicated strong doubts
of the innocence of the young woman who had left her
fatlier’s roof to run after an acrobat.

The policeman had not the same reasons for remaining
neutral, however, so he interposed with unmistakable,
rudeness.

‘^That can’t be allowed,” he said, coarsely. ^^You
disturbed the performance, and consequently you will
have to go with me to the station-house, and explain your
conduct to the corporal there.”

To the station-house!” repeated Camille, turning de-
spairingly to her protector.

The moment had come for Julien to interfere. He felt
satisfied that Camille was telling the truth, and he could
not desert the daughter of his father’s new partner. He
might have hesitated, however, had she been unprepos-
sessing in appearance, but beauty is the best of creden-
tials for a woman, and he resolved to see her safely out of
the scrape.

I will be responsible for mademoiselle,” said he.

That is all very well, but I do not know you,” growl-
ed the policeman.

You probably know my father by name and reputa-
tion— Pierre Gemozac.”

‘^^The owner of the large iron foundry on the Quai de
Jemmapes? I should think I did know him. My brother
works there.”

Well, I live there. Here is my card, and if you will '
call there and ask for me to-morrow, you will find me at
home between the hours of twelve and two.”

^^And I reside with my father,” added Camille. If
it were daylight, you could see the house from here. If

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

you do not believe me, you can accompany me to my door
and see for yourself. But you would do much better to
arrest the man who has just stolen twenty thousand francs
from us. You will find him there in that hall — ’’

Very well, we will see about that to-morrow. Tiie
troupe will not leave before the close of the fair. I will
report the case to my corporal, and give him this gentle-
man’s card.”

All right, my worthy friend. You can tell him that
I am at his service at any time. Besides, there is nothing
to prevent him from maldng inquiries at Monsieur Mon-
istroFs house, as well, if he chooses.”

At No. 292 Boulevard Voltaire,” added Camille, who
had regained all her wonted composure. But do not
detain me. My father was roughly handled by that
wretch, and even if he is not seriously injured, he must be
very anxious about me.”

After all, you have been guilty of no very grave of-
fense,” muttered the officer, so you may return home,
mademoiselle; but be careful not to get yourself in such a
scrape again.”

Thanks, my fine fellow,” said Gemozac. I shall be
glad to prove my gratitude to you by promoting your
brother if he is a gopd workman. Take my arm, mad-
emoiselle.”

Camille needed no urging. She realized now the dan-
ger she had incurred, and could think only of reassuring
her father; but as she turned to walk away with her pro-
tector, Julien’s friend followed them, and stepping up to
his comrade’s side, said cautiously;

It is doubtless very delightful to play the part of Don
Quixote with such a pretty girl, but don’t forget that you
iiave an appointment at the Cafe Anglais at twelve o’clock
to-night.”

Julien stopped short, confronted him, and said by way
^ response;-

Mademoiselle, this is Monsieur Alfred de Fresnay,
who begs an introduction to you, and who places himself,
like your humble servant, entirely at your disposal.”

Camille bowed, and so did Alfred; though the latter
found it a little difficult to hide his discomfiture, for he
was a gentleman who had little taste for romantic adven-
tures and persecuted damsels.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWI^.

Pray let us walk on,” murmured the young girl.

Julien complied with her request, but had the good
taste not to begin a conversation that certainly would not
interest Mademoiselle Monistrol at such a moment, and
Alfred walked along behind them with rather a crestfallen
air.

Only four or five minutes afterward all three of them
reached the board fence that the acrobat had cleared at a
single bound. Camille had been obliged to open the gate
to pursue him, and she had not stopped to close it after
her. Consequently, she was not surprised to find it open
as she had left it; but she vaguely hoped to see some signs
of her father, who would not have been likely to wait
patiently at his fireside for his daughter’s return from the
dangerous expedition upon which she had embarked. But
she not only saw no signs of Monistrol, but no light shone
from the windows of the modest dwelling.

He must have gone out in search of me,” the girl said
to herself, making a futile attempt to overcome her mis-
givings.

^^Is it here that you reside, mademoiselle?” inquired
Julien.

Yes; come in,” she replied, stepping ahead of him.

She ran straight to the door, which liad been left open
like the gate, and entered the hall. A death-like silence
pervaded the house, and oppressed by a grim presentiment
of approaching misfortune, she paused, afraid to go any
further alone.

Father!” she cried, huskily, come here. It is I —
Camille.”

No one responded to the call.

Gemozac and his friend were close behind the girl, and
turning, Camille seized the former convulsively by the arm.

I am afraid,” she whispered.

And I feel by no means tranquil in mind,” muttered
Alfred. This house looks to me very like a regular cut-
throats’ den.”

Julien, being an inveterate smoker, was never without
matches, so he now drew a box from his pocket, and on
striking a light, discovered a candle standing on a small
table in the hall.

‘‘1 will go first, mademoiselle,” he said, arming himself
with the candle.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWISr.

let me show you the way/’ replied Gamille.

‘^But madeaioiselle, the thief may have had an accom-
plice, and as there might be some danger in that case, you
had better allow me to go first/’

The three entered the little dining-room almost at the
same instant, however; but the curtains had fallen, thus
concealing the little drawing-room from view.

‘^Father, are you here?” cried Camille.

There was no response. Getnozac stepped forward, and
lifting the portiere, perceived a man lying motionless upon
the floor between the table and the fire-place.

Camille also saw the prostrate form, and recognized it.

‘^Oh, my. God!” she cried wildly, ‘^he killed him!”
And before Julie n could prevent it, she threw herself upon
her father’s body.

Her words were only too true. The unfortunate in-
ventor gave no sign of life. Seizing his hand, Camille
found that it was already cold in death. She took him in
her arms, and tried to lift him, but her strength failed
her, and with a low cry, she sunk insensible upon the floor
beside him.

murder! Well, this caps the climax!” growled
Fresnay, recoiling hastily. ‘^You have certainly got us
into a nice mess.”

Silence, man, and help me first to lift this poor child,”
said G^mozac, hastily.

And where the devil shall we take her?”

To her bed, of course. Her chamber must be on the
floor above.”

And afterward?”

Afterward you must run to the nearest station-house,
tell them that a murder has just been committed here,
and bring some officers and a commissioner of police back
with you.”

A nice errand you are sending me on! Catch me ever
attending another gingerbread fair in your company!”

If you desert me now, I swear that I will never have
anything more to do with you while I live. What you
just said is unworthy of you. Is it possible that you are
utterly heartless? Come, take the candle, and walk on
ahead, I can carry her very well alone.”

Fresnay obeyed his friend’s instructions, though not
without some grumbling. Camille’s room was on the left

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

of the landing, and they. had no difficulty in recognizing
it by its little white-curtained bed.

Jiilien laid her gently upon it, then took a carafe of
water from the toilet- table, and sprinkled a few drops
upon her face. She opened her eyes, but closed them
almost instantly, murmuring a few unintelligible words
as she did so; then covering her face with her hands, as if
to shut out some frightful vision, she again relapsed into
a state of comple unconsciousness.

Gemozac was no doctor, and he had not the slightest
idea of what ought to be done in such a case.

You had better bring a physician, too,’’ he said to his
friend, who sulkily replied:

Why don’t you send me for a nurse, too, while you
are about iti^ Upon my word! I really believe you have
lost your mind. What can induce you to insist upon
mixing yourself up in an affair that does not interest
either of us in the least?”

Speak for yourself, if you please. Didn’t you hear
me say that this young girl’s father became my father’s
partner in business a few days ago? He was probably
killed by a scoundrel who tried to rob him of the money
he received from my father this very morning.”

How do you know? Your 'protegee is evidently half
crazy, and I am utterly at a loss to understand her strange
chase after an acrobat.”

^‘Enough! I will not stand here and wrangle by her
bedside. Follow me.”

Julien picked up the candle, went down-stairs, and pro-
ceeded to examine the body of the murdered man.

You certainly will not try to deny that this man came
to his death by strangling?” he said at last, turning to the
skeptical Alfred. The fingers of the assassin have left
unmistakable imprints upon the unfortunate man’s
throat.”

Alfred stooped, examined the body with more curiosity
than emotion, straightened himself up, and said;

‘^Fingers! I should call them dlaws. It was not a
man’s hand that made these black marks upon both sides
of the throat. It was the hand of a gorilla! And what a
thumb! It tore the skin and penetrated deep into the
flesh.

^^Say it is the work of the devil, if you like, provided

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

joii will go for the police,” replied Gemozac, pushing his
reluctant friend toward the door, and Alfred yielded,
though not without asking:

Why don’t you go yourself?”

Because I can not leave Mademoiselle Monistrol alone
in her present condition. When we get some one else here,
I shall be very willing to go, though .1 shall return to-
morrow with my mother, who will certainly take the
orphan girl under her protection. But until the police
arrive, I must remain to watch over her.”

A wild, heart-broken cry resounded from the room
above.

^^Do you hear that?” cried Julien; must hasten to
her at once. Go, I beg of you, but return as soon as pos-
sible. I am not anxious to spend the night with a mur-
dered man and this grief-stricken girl.”

Fresnay was not a bad fellow at heart, but he had the
Parisian fault of taking nothing seriously. Monistrol and
his daughter were both strangers to him; he had an en-
gagement to sup with some gay friends that evening, and
the idea of becoming mixed up in a criminal affair was
extremely distasteful to him; still, he had promised Julien
that he would inform the police, and not knowing exactly
where to find a station-house in that vicinity, he directed
his steps Jo ward the Place du Trone.

Before reaching it, however, he met two policemen —
the one who had threatened to arrest Camille was now off
duty. Telling them that a murder had just been com-
mitted only a short distance off, in a house that he de-
scribed to them, he asked them if they would attend to
summoning a commissioner of police.

They answered in the affirmative, and were about to
ask him for further information; but unfortunately an
empty hackney-coach was passing at the time, and the
temptation proving too strong for him, Fresnay said, hur-
riedly:

You can not make a mistake. It is on the right hand
side, and only a short distance down the Boulevard.
There is a board fence in front of the house.”

Then leaping into the carriage, he cried to the driver:

Cafe Anglais — Boulevard des Italiens.”

A good riddance to you, liumbug!” .growled the elder
of the policemen.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

It’s not Avorth Avhiie to trouble ourselves,” replied the
other. ^^It is only an April Fool’s Day joke.”

And they tranquilly continued their round.

CHAPTER 11.

Pierre Gemozac, one of the iron kings of the day,
and worth his millions, resided only a short distance from
the foundry where he had amassed his fortune, on the
anything but romantic banks of the Saint-Martin Canal.

It must be admitted, however, that he had built him-
self a palatial residence there, and that the Quai de Jem-
mapes is not very far from the heart of Paris when one
owns comfortable carriages and excellent horses. The
close proximity to the noisy workshops had its incon-
veniences, but the heavy thud of the hammers and the
snorting of the steam-engines was sweet music in the ears
of the worthy man Avho had acquired his wealth by build-
ing locomotives, and who had begun life as a common
machinist.

He had married late in life; and by his wife, Avho was
much better born and younger than himself, he had had
only one child, a son whom he idolized, though this son
caused him much more anxiety than satisfaction.

Julien Gemozac, though he had arrived at the age of
twenty-eight, was still only a fashionable idler, who did
not seem in the least inclined to regard life seriously, to
the very great disappointment of his father, who had
dreamed of making his only son his successor. Julien
belonged to a fashionable club, led a very gay life, played
heavily, and was an enthusiastic patron of the turf.

Nevertheless, he had pursued his studies with a very
fair degree of success; and was the fortunate possessor of
a civil engineer’s diploma which he had no intention
Avhatever of using.

His mother spoiled him; his father said to himself by
way of consolation: He must sow his wild oats;” but
this seemed to be a long and tedious task to his anxious
parent.

Until his rather too light-hearted son should become
more deeply impressed with a sense of his responsibilities,
his doting parent' required only two things of him — that

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWI^.

Julien should reside under the paternal roof, and that he
should always be present at the family breakfast.

It not nnfrequently happened that he made his appear-
ance with haggard features and sunken eyes, but he was
never sulky, though his father sometimes lectured him
gently, and his mother, who was anxious for him to mar-
ry, proposed one heiress after another as claimants for his
favorable consideration.

The tragical death of poor Monistrolhad not been with-
out its effect on the Gemozac household,

Julien did not appear at breakfast the next morning,
nor had lie returned home at all the previous night.

His anxious parents passed a very miserable day, for it
was not until six o’clock in the evening that they learned
what had detained him.

Deserted by his friend Fresnay, Julien had spent the
rest of the night anxiously awaiting the arrival of the
autliorities, and in watching over Mile. Monistrol, who
had passed from one nervous spasm into another, and it
was not until nearly daybreak that he was able to summon
some passers-by to his assistance.

The police were again notified, and made their appear-
ance promptly this time; but Camille, when questioned,
could give only incoherent answers, and Julien, knowing
little or nothing about the circumstances, could not en-
lighten the commissioner to any great extent, for the scene
at the performance was no conclusive evidence against the
accused.

Mme. G6mozac hastened to the home of the orphan as
soon as she was apprised of the tragedy, and found that
brain fever had set in, and that the physician would not
be responsible for Mile. Monistrol’s life.

It was necessary to bury her father without her knowl-
edge, but Pierre Gemozac and his son followed the un-
fortunate inventor to the grave as chief mourners.

A week passed before there was any decided change Tn
the situation; for Camille, though now convalescent,
seemed plunged in a sort of stupor that paralyzed all her
• faculties. The detectives were seeking the culprit, but
had discovered nothing which would serve as a clew.
Mme. Gemozac had placed a woman she could trust, and
also a sister of charity in charge of the sick girl, and not

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWJST.

only visited her frequently, but was busily engaged in
devising plans for her future welfare.

The unfortunate girl he had befriended had excited a
deep interest in Julien’s heart, and he had not yet forgiven
Alfred Fresnay for his selfish desertion. Still, he was
gradually resuming his former habits, l^he orphan’s ter-
rible bereavement was much less fresh in his mind, and
he was beginning to be less interested in the discovery of
MonistroFs mysterious murder.

On the eighth day after the catastrophe he inquired at
the breakfast-table, as usual, how Camille was progress-
ing, and learned that she had left her bed for the first
time the evening before.

We shall soon receive a call from her,” replied Mrne.
Gemozac, for she insists upon coming here to thank us,”

I shall be delighted to see her,” replied M. Gemozac,
not only because I want to tell her how deeply I sympa-
thize with her in her bereavement, but also because I
have some good news for her. MonistroFs invention will
yield a fortune. If the business continues to prosper as
well as everything seems to indicate, his daughter will be
very rich, and I shall make a great deal of money out of
my interest in the patent. After this, she can live in much
better style, if she chooses; for by the end of the year I
shall owe her a good round sum, and in the meantime I
will advance her any money she may need.”

^^That ought to console her,” remarked Jiilien.

I doubt if she will ever be consoled,” replied Mme.
Gemozac. I have been studying her a little during her
convalesence, and I think 1 understand her. She is a
character, this girl of twenty years. She does not seem
in the least anxious about herself, or in regard to what is
likely to become of her. She talks only of her father, and
of avenging his death.”

I am very much afraid that she will never succeed in
that. The investigation is still in progress, but no definite
information in regard to the assassin has yet been secured.
The acrobat, the accused, was examined day before yes-
terday, but he succeeded in establishing an alibi. He will
be confronted by her, undoubtedly, as soon as she is in a
condition to give her testimony; but I am almost certain
that she will not be able to identify him.”

There is very little chance of it, I must admit; for she-

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK. 27

told me tliat she saw only the hand of the murderer/^ re-
plied Mme. Gemozac.

‘‘Ah, yes, tlie hand! That seems to haunt her inces-
santly. During her first nervous attack, she kept crying:
‘ 01], that liand — it is coming nearer] It threatens my
father! Drive it away!’ She was delirious, you know.
It is true that the physician said at the post-mortem ex-
amination tliat her father was strangled by an enormous
hand; and I, too, was satisfied of the fact wherf^I first ex-
amined the body. But that is no clew after all, for near-
ly all assassins have enormous hands. Don’t you recol-
lect that a while ago nothing was talked of but the ex-
traordinary size of Troppmann’s thumb?”

Just then a footman entered the breakfast- room, a very
unusual occurrence, by the way, as M. G6mozac insisted
upon breakfasting alone with liis wife and son, and the
servants had orders never to come in nnsummoned.

“ What is it, Jean?” asked M. Gemozac, frowning.

“ Mademoiselle Monistrol wishes to see you and madame,
sir. I told her that you were at breakfast.”

“ No matter. Show her in,” replied his master,
promptly.

When Camille entered the room, Julien scarcely rec-
ognized her. He had seen her only in the costume she
wore on the evening of their first meeting. He had left
her in the height of a violent fever, with her clothing dis-
ordered, her hair unbound, and her features distorted with
suffering. She appeared now under an entirely different
aspect: plainly dressed in black, with her hair ar ran ged'in
a fashion that admirably suited the contour of her face
and head, and pallid Avith suffering; but this pallor only
onhanced her beauty, and imparted to her a charm that
impressed young Gemozac deeply.

The father, who saw her now for the first time, gazed
at her in speechless admiration, but Mme. Gemozac
rose, took her affectionately by the hand, and seated her
near her husband, who scarcely knew what to say, though
he felt most kindly disposed toward her.

Camille relieved him of his embarrassment by saying
quietly:

“ I haA^e been impatient for an opportunity to thank
you, sir. My father was indebted to you for the happiness

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

that brightened the last day of his life; and it is not to
Monsieur Gemozac alone that I must ever feel grateful.’’

These last words were addressed to the son and to the
mother, who took it upon herself to answer for all.

My dear child,” she said, kindly, you are now almost
one of our family, and we have only done our duty; Julien
in assisting you in a most trying moment, and I in caring
for you afterward. My. husband will do his in watching
over your financial interests and managing your property.
But you did very wrong to venture out to-day. It was
extremely imprudent in^your present state of health.”

^^The physician gave me permission to do so, madame.
^ am quite well again. You will need no better proof of
this than the fact that I underwent a long examination
yesterday without feeling any ill effects fi’om it.”

‘^What! the magistrate did not fear to subject you to
such a painful ordeal? I think he might have waited at
least a few days longer;”

I called upon him unsolicited, and begged him to grant
me a hearing. I made a great mistake, however, for he
attached no importance to my testimony. He takes me
for a lunatic, or rather, he thinks I only dreamed what I
told him. Perhaps he even suspects me of being the
assassin’s accomplice. He did not say so, but I thought
I saw it in his eyes.”

‘^Tiien he must be an idiot or worse than an idiot,” ex-
claimed Julien, hotly.

^^He blamed me for having abandoned my father to run
after the wretch who had just killed him.”

‘*'^But you did not know that your father was seriously
injured. I was with you when you first found him lying
lifeless upon the floor, and I said as much to the magis-
trate.”

■ ^ He pretends that the assassin must have been in-
formed by some one that my father had been paid a large
sum of money that day.”

hope he is not so stupid as to suppose that you were
the person who apprised him of the fact. It 'would be
much more sensible in him to arrest all the acrobats who
performed at the fair, and seek the murderer among
them.”

^^He has released the man I accused. There see in s\ to

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWII. 29

be nothing left for him to do now but to send me to
prison/’ said Camille, bitterly.

Ah!” exclaimed M. Gemozac, ^^it is quite time for
me to testify that you liave always been the most devoted
and affectionate of daughters. I have known Monistrol
along time, and he always spoke of you in the highest
terms, and often told me how nobly you had aided
and encouraged him in the many trying ordeals throug1r'-->^
• which he had passed.

You were his only comfort, for your mother died in
bringing you into the world. You had never been separated
from him, and it was chiefly for your sake that he desired
to acquire wealth. By perseverance and industry he
succeeded at last; but he did not live to enjoy his success.

I am here, however, to give his daughter a father’s care,
and your future shall be my care. I shall deserve no.
credit for this, however, for you are rich, very rich. Your
share in the profits in the copartnership I formed with
Monistrol will yield you, this year, an income of at least
fifty thousand francs, and I shall immediately make such
arrangements as will enable you to live in a style befitting
my partner’s daughter and heiress.”

‘^1 thank you, sir, but I prefer to make no change in
my mode of life. I have alwa3^s been poor, and I am
perfectly content with my lot.”

^^But I shall be obliged to pay you this money, even
against your will, for I can not keep what does not belong
to me. Besides, how can you do without the money?
Your father le^ft you nothing beside his patent.”^

^^The house in which he died belongs to me. It was
my mother’s only dowry on her marriage.”

But even if you should rent it, it would not yield you
enough to purchase food,” said M. Gdmozac, smiling.'

"" Nor can you live there alone,” added his wife. ''I
shall endeavor to secure suitable apartments for you in
this immediate neighborhood. It is not a very gay one,
it is true, but we shall be neighbors, and so be able to see
each other every day. If you consent, I will also find
two trusty women to serve you.”

^'I am very grateful to you, madame,” Camille an-
swered gently; but I have made up my mind not to
leave the house in which I have always, lived. My old
nurse is in Montreuil, and she is willing to come and

30 ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWil.

stay with me, so I need not trouble you to find any other
servants for me/’

^^But you will need money to live upon,” replied
M. Gemozac, rather brusquely, for he could not under-
stand the young girl’s persistent refusal, and I shall be
in your debt to a very considerable amount before the end
^of the year.”

Tlien I must ask you to keep the money for me, pay-
ing over to me only what I may require to defray my ex-
penses.”

That sounds much more reasonable,” said M. Ge-
mozac, rubbing his hands. ^‘But you must understand
that my purse is at your disposal, and that you can draw
upon it as you please. I will invest any money you do
not use. and in a year or two, mademoiselle, you will be a
splendid parti, with any number of suitors to choose
from.”

I have not the slightest intention of marrying.”

But why not, my dear child?” inquired Mme. Gemo-
zac,

Because I have a mission to fulfill.”

A mission?”

Yes. I am resolved to avenge my father. As the
authorities are powerless, I will do what they can not, or
will not, do. I will ferret out the assassin, and drag him
before them, and then we will see if they refuse to listen
when I say, ‘ Here he is!’ ”

“ And you hope to find, unaided, this scoundrel whose
face you did not even see, my son tells me?”

“I shall find him. I feel almost positive of it. God
will not allow the wretch to escape me as he escaped those
who sought him so indifferently. I will pursue him to
the ends of the earth, if need be. Nothing shall deter
" me; and if I die with my task still unfulfilled — ”

Do not talk of dying at your age,” interrupted
Mme. Gemozac. “Time will assuage your very natural
grief, and you will forget the past in thinking of the fut-
ure. Nothing is eternal in this world, my dear Camille.
Some day or other you will be loved by a man worthy of
you, and you will love him in return. We women are
born to be wives and mothers. You talk of a mission —
our mission is to make our husbands happy, and to rear
our children.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

I know ifc, madame; bnt if I ever maiTj any one ifc will
be the man who brings my fatlier’s murderer to justice/^

Take care, mademoiselle,^^ said M. Gernozac, gayly,.
for he had no idea that their young visitor was really in
earnest. If you persist in this resolve, you will perhaps
be obliged to marry a detective/^

No, replied Camille, firmly, detective would

only be doing his duty in ferreting out and arresting an
assassin, and I should be under no personal obligation to
liim. I speak of the man who might assist me in my
work merely out of regard or sympathy for me. If such
an one succeeded in his efforts, I should not begrudge
him his reward.^’

^^If I were a younger man I should certainly try to win
the prize,” laughed the manufacturer. Under such
conditions there are many who will be only too happy to
serve you.”

Julien said nothing; but his mother read in his eyes
that he would not be sorry to enter the lists. And in
fact, though he was not yet exactly in love with Mad-
emoiselle Monistrol, Julien said to himself that it would be
a fine thing to win the hand of his father’s youthful
partner. It was not her fortune that tempted him, for
he had money enough for both; but Camille was very
beautiful, and her originality attracted him. Besides, h&
was beginning to tire of his aimless existence, and this
would be an excellent opportunity to put an end to a life
of pleasure that had ceased to amuse him. The question
Avas to know if Mile. Monistrol would accept him as an
ally, and though bashfulness was not his besetting sin
by any means, he dared not offer his services for fear that
she would decline them.

I admire your energy, my dear Camille,” said Mme.
Gernozac, but I wonder how you will go to Avork to ac-
complish your object.”

I have no idea yet. God Avill inspire me.”

^^But you will allow us to see you occasionally, Avillyoii
not?”

Certainly, madame; only I must beg you to grant me
entire liberty. I must be free to come and go Avhen I
like. I may even be compelled to leave Paris — for a time.”"

Money is called the sinews of Avar,” interposed M.
Gernozac; and it is quite as necessary in traveling as in

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

waging war. So you must do me the favor to cad at my
office to-morrow; but no — you need not take the trouble —
my cashier will bring you five thousand francs now. Will
that do for a begin ning?’^^

That is much more than I shall need, sir.’^

The wealthy manufacturer stepped to one of the speak-
ing-tubes, which were always close at hand, even when he
was breakfasting, applied his mouth and then his ear to it;
theh, turning to Camille, said:

‘^Tliat is all right. When you want more money, you
hav3 only to let me know. N^ow, a word in regard to your
plan. I do not positively disapprove of it, but I advise
you to take no decisive step until you are better informed
on the subject; for I think, with my son, that there is
nothing to prove that the acrobat you accuse is the cul-
prit.”

He is the culprit, nevertheless. I am certain of it.”

If that be the case, he must have decamped before
this time.”

Then I shall follow him up.”

It is by no means certain that he has gone, however,”
said Julien, The Gingerbread Fair is still in progress on
the Place du Trone, and as the scoundrel succeeded in
establishing an alibi when he was ex^amined by the judge
of instruction, he no longer feels any fear of arrest, I will
make inquiries concerning him, however, if mademoiselle
has no objections.”

thank you, sir,” replied Camille, promptly. ‘^I
shall continue my efforts, but I gladly accept the assistance
you so generously offer.”

Bravo!” said the father. Here is the fellow-laborer
you were seeking, my dear child; but I advise you not to
count too much upon his co-operation. My son spends
most of his time at the club, and in other equally objec-
tionable places; so if the interest he takes in your cause
will cure him of his bad habits, I shall be under very great
obligations to you. But I dare not flatter myself yet that
you have converted him.”

You shall see,” said Julien, a little hurt by this lack
of confidence.

Mme. Gemozac refrained from taking any part in the
discussion. She thought, with her husband, that Julien
would do well to abandon the life he was leading, but she

ZIZ-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

also found that this new undertaking might involve him
in serious danger. She liked Camille, but the independ-
ent theories the young girl had just advanced shocked
her a little; and, foreseeing that such an association would
almost inevitably result in a marriage, the prudent mother
did not feel inclined to encourage it, thinking, with just-
ice, that Julien might do much better in the social circles
in which his parents moved.

Just then the cashier entered with five rolls of gold in
one hand and in the other a receipt, which Camille
promptly signed; for she did not blush to accept this ad-
vance upon the inheritance her unfortunate father had
bequeathed to her.

‘^Do you know, Madamoiselle,’^ continued Gemozac,
^^that I feel very uneasy when I think of your living
alone in that isolated house in which your father was
robbed and killed? Why do you insist upon remaining
there? You must have a trusty body guard, at all events.
Suppose I send yon, every night, one of my employes, an
old soldier, a regular Hercules, who is quite capable of
holding a whole band of brigands at bay?”

Thanks, but I have Brigitte.”

And who is Brigitte?”

^^My nurse, sir. She is as strong as a man, and afraid
of nothing. She will be sufficient protection.”

^‘If I were in your place, I vvould not depend upon her
too implicitly. Besides, she is not yet at her post.”

Pardon me, sir; she has been with me since yester-
day. I went to Montreuil for her, and she left everything
to accompany me home. She is waiting for me now, so
you must permit me to take leave of you.”

Gemozac arose. His wife was already on her feet, for
she did not care to prolong the interview, though she in-
tended to pay Mile. Monistrol a visit the following day,
and have a long and serious talk with her. She kissed the
young girl affectionately on both cheeks, and accompanied
lier as far as the door, while the father and son, of course,
contented themselves with shaking the hand Camille of-
fered to them.

The brave girl had said all she had to say, and carried
nway with her, in her little leather satchel, money enough
to defray not only her personal expenses, but the expenses
of her campaign for at least a month. She knew, too,
2

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWil.

that she had a warm friend in the person of Julian Ge-
inozac. Still, she depended chiefly upon her own efforts
for success, and she resolved not to lose a moment in be-
ginning operations.

She had come to the Quai de Jemmapes in a carriage,
and she now ordered the coachman to take her straight to
the Place du Trone. She passed her home, and even saw
Brigitte at the windpw, but she did not stop. She was
already blaming herself for not having examined the
booths oil the fair-grounds before, and was impatient to
satisfy herself that the troupe to which Zig-Zag belonged
was still performing there.

A fair, like a theater, is always at a stand-still in the
morning. The place is deserted, and silence reigns every-
where. There is never any bustle and excitement. A
few gamins may be seen hanging around, or playing hide-
and-seek among the tents. Here and there one sees a toy
or fruit merchant arranging his wares, or a tight-rope
dancer seated upon a stool mending a shabby tunic, or
the strong man, returning from market in a thread- bare
overcoat with a basket on his arm.

It is the time when the artists whom the public ap-
plaud in the evening become very commonplace and ap-
])roachable mortals, ever ready to take a social glass with
the wine merchant.

Camille was well aware of this fact, and she resolved to
])rofit by it. She even hoped that chance might bring her
face to face with the celebrated Zig-Zag, and so give her
an opportunity to see his hands. He concealed them in
performing his famous feat, but off the stage they must
certainly be visible, and they could not be mistaken for
tliose of any other acrobat by reason of the enormous
thumb in which the judge of instruction refused to be-
lieve, being very evidently of the opinion that the girl’s
terror had magnified the object, and impaired her sense
of vision,

She took care to alight from the carriage a short dis-
tance from the Place du Trone, in order not to attract
attention. She found nearly all the tents and other jflaces
of amusement closed, as the performances did not begin
until four o’clock in the afternoon; but there were some
signs of life around several of them. That in whicli Zig-
Zag had performed seemed to be deserted, however. Ko

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN-.

sound came from it, nor did any smoke from the stove-
pipe that projected from the roof of the long, red wagon
in which the members of the troupe slept.

This strange vehicle, a sort of Noah’s ark, stood behind
the building. The two bony horses that dragged it, un-
harnessed now, and tied to one of the wheels, were brows-
ing on the scanty turf of the public highway. A man in
a blouse was sitting, with arms folded, on the pole, with a
short black pipe in his mouth.

This man had a large, florid face, adorned with an
enormous pug nose, and a mouth that extended almost
from ear to ear.

Camille did not recognize him at first, on account of
the change in his attire; but, on looking at him more
closely, she recollected that she had seen him before, for
he was the very clown who had announced Zig-Zag’s speedy
appearance to the impatient audience. But his jovial air
had vanished, his eyes were as glassy as those of a blind
man, and his face wore an expression of the deepest
despondency.

Some misfortune had certainly befallen him; and this
very evident fact furnished Camille with a pretext for en-
tering into conversation with him.

Camille approached him boldly, and interrupted his
reverie by tapping him on the shoulder. He had not
noticed her approach, and he now gazed at her with an
air of bewilderment that rendered his appearance still
more grotesque.

Camille knew how to deal with persons of this class.

‘•Ah, well, my worthy friend, things do not seem to
be going to suit you to-day,” she said, pleasantly.

“ That’s not strange, when a man hasn’t money enough
to buy a little tobacco,” growled the man, taking his pipe
from his mouth, and shaking the empty bowl.

“ That’s a great reason for looking as solemn as an owl!”

“It’s quite enough, I think. It’s very easy to talk, but
I’d like to see how you would stand it if you hadn’t had
anything to eat for twenty-four hours, and had no tobacco
to keep hunger away. Besides, what business is it of
yours? I never saw you before, and I don’t feel in the
humor for talking.”

“I am surprised that you don’t recognize me. You
were present the night I was turned out of the hall be-

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWH.

cause they said I interrupted the performance. Don’t
you recollect that the policeman threatened to take me to
the station-house?”

^^Oh, yes, I know you now; but if you hadn’t spoken
to me, I should never have guessed you were the person
who pretended that Zig-Zag had robbed you. You must
have made a mistake, for the magistrate who examined
him could find no proofs against him. Is it true that
several thousand francs were stolen from you?”

from me, but from my father — and the thief
killed him.”

Then it was not Zig-Zag. He’s a scoundrel, but he
wouldn’t have the courage to kill a man. Besides, the
officers came here and searched us and our trunks; but
they found nothing, and Zig-Zag proved that he had not
been out of the building during the performance. But
you can congratulate yourself upon having done us plenty
of injury, my little lady.”

Why, is one of your other comrades accused?” asked
Camille, quickly. Bring me face to face with him, and
I will testify that I do not recognize him.”

Oh, no one is accused, but the troupe is in disgrace;
and we have been obliged to close up because we don’t
make a penny, and for two whole days I haven’t had a
square meal.”

You shall have one to-day, my friend,” said the girl,
drawing a twenty-franc piece from her purse.

The man pocketed it without any ceremony.

^^Good luck to you!” he exclaimed. You have a kind
heart. The little chap will have something to eat now.”

And two big tears rolled down his florid cheeks.

Have you a child?” inquired Camille, with interest.

Yes, a little shaver who is going on thirteen, and
whose stomach never seems to get enough. Ah, if I had
only myself to feed, I could get along very well, for I am
used to going hungry — but poor Georget — it goes hard
with him.”

And your wife?”

My wife!” sneered the unfortunate clown, ^^she has
run away with that scoundrel Zig-Zag.”

What!” exclaimed Camille, Zig-Zag, the acrobat I
pursued to the door of your show; he has run away, you
say?”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

He decamped night before last, and took Amanda
witli him,” was the doleful response. A good-for-noth-
ing hussy I picked up when she was begging on the pub-
lic highway. She owes everything to me. I taught her to
dance and perform on the tight-rope, and was fool enough
to marry her; and only three years afterward, siie leaves
me for a rascal who isn’t worth the rope to hang him.”

But how could she have made up her mind to desert
her child?”

‘‘Oh, Georget isn’t her child. Thank God! I have
been married twice, and if my boy’s mother was alive, I
shouldn’t be where I am. She fell, and was killed, while
performing at the Guibray Fair. She was a good wife to
me, and took good care of the little chap, too. Ah! he
isn’t sorry Amanda is gone, I can tell you. She was al-
ways scolding and abusing him, and I was coward enough
not to put a stop to it. When I saw Zig-Zag hanging
around her, I never once suspected that there was any-
thing wrong. And now she has gone olf with him, and
taken all my money with her, — three hundred francs that
I had saved penny by penny. It serves me right though
for being such a fool.”

The poor devil was actually weeping.

His sincere sorrow touched Mile. Monistrol, but did
not make her forget Zig-Zag. This was an excellent
opportunity to obtain some information in regard to
the wretch, and the idea of making the injured husband
her auxiliary had already occurred to Camille.

“I pity you with all my heart, and I will gladly aid you
in discovering the culprits — for I suppose you are not go-
ing to leave them in peace. I, too, have an account to
settle with Zig-Zag, you recollect.”

“ Yes,” growled the clown, “ it maybe that he did kill
your father, for he is capable of anything. Nothing
would please me better than to see him mount the steps
of the guillotine. But magistrates are such fools. They
have let him go once, and they will let him go again, even
if 1 should succeed in finding him, and I shall have no
such good luck.”

“ You can search for him, however.”

“And how shall we live in the meantime? My boy can
not live upon air, nor can I, for that matter. Our em-
ployer lias shut up shop. He is in debt to everybody.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

The building and tlie scenery and the costumes have all
been attached, and I must try to secure another engage-
ment for Georget and myself, but this will be a hard thing
to do, for the fair closes day after to-morrow.'^

^MVhat is your name?’’ Camille asked, suddenly.

Jean Courapied, aged forty-five, born on the road be-
tween Paris and Amiens.”

^‘Are you anxious to continue'in your present business?”

I don’t know any other way to earn my living. My
father was a juggler, and my mother a circus rider, so you
see I am a child of the ring.”

But if you and your son were sure of a comfortable
and much less laborious existence, what then?”

should jump at the chance, especially if I could
send the little chap to school. But unfortunately I have
not yet discovered any wealthy person anxious to adopt
me.”

I will pay you good wages if you will consent to serve
me, and provide for your son besides.”

You, my little lady! Your proposal suits me to a T,
but what am I to do? I’m only a clown, and I have no
right to be too particular; and yet if I should be asked to
commit any piece of mscality, I should refuse, if only on
George t’s account.”

I hope so, indeed. .If I had not taken you for an
honest man, I should not have spoken to you.”

Then what do 3^11 want me to do?”

‘^Can you not guess? My father has been murdered,
and I have sworn to avenge him. The authorities have
allowed his assassin to escape. I caught only a glimpse
of him, but you know him—”

Zig-Zag, you mean? I should think I did know him!
We have been traveling together eighteen months. But
how do you know that it was he who — ”

am certain of it. After the crime, I pursued him,
and saw him enter this building by the back door.”

It is true that he did have a key to it, but he declared
upon oath that he did not leave the building during the
performance. I knew he was lying, but I thought that
he merely went out to take a drink, so I didn’t want to
get him into trouble. Ah! if I had suspected that he was
going to steal Amanda from me!”

Do you accept my offer?”

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWH.

Certainly, certainly; but I can not promise to catch
him. He is terribly sharp, and if he has all that money
in his possession, he will lose no time in gettting out of
Paris.

Listen to me,” interrupted Camille. I am rich, and
I shall spare no expense to find him. You and your child
must begin by changing your costumes. You must be re-
spectably clad, and in such a style that people will take
you for a countryman who has just arrived from the
provinces with his son. You must then hire rooms in
some modest hotel, and take up your abode there with a
respectable amount of baggage. You had better pui’chase
your clothing and your trunks to-day. I reside near here,
in a liouse that I will point out to you, but it would be
better for you to select a part of the town in which you
will be less likely to be recognized. You must come
and see me as soon as you are installed in your
new quarters, and you can then begin your search
without a moment’s delay. I will defray all these ex-
penses, of course, and will pay you three hundred francs
a month for your services, until we have succeeded in our
task. Afterward I will obtain a situation for you, and
place your son in a school where they will make a man of
him.

Courapied was weeping, but this time it was with joy.

^^Ah, madame,” he began in a broken voice, I — ”

Call me mademoiselle,” interrupted Camille. 1 am
not married, and as my father is dead, I am sole mistress
of my actions, nor is there any one to call me to account
for the use I make of my money. Now what I desire of
you is, first: Information in regard to this scoundrel. What
is his real name?”

I never learned. Amanda knows, perhaps; and yet,
I don’t believe that he ever confided it to her.”

“ But he must have told some of his comrades.”

He had no comrades. He was not one of us — or,
rather, he adopted the profession only from necessity — and
he must have followed several others before he turned
acrobat.”

^‘How did he happen to become a member of your
company?”

It was by the merest chance. Early last year we took
a trip through the South, and our head gymnast fled into

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWiq'.

Spain without so much as saying, by your leave. The
manager tried to find some one to take his place, but
couldn’t. One evening, wliile we were encamped in afield
on the edge of a strip of woods, a tall, strapping fellow,
dressed like a gentleman, in a suit of black — only it was a
terribly battered and threadbare suit — came out of the
woods. What was he doing there? Probably lying in
wait for some passer-by, to rob him. This did not pre-
vent him from offering us his services, however. Our
manager laughed in his face. But what did the fellow do
but throw off his coat, slip his hands under his waistband
and then perform his wonderful feat, right there on the
turf, without the slightest preparation. One would have
sworn that he was born in the sawdust, our expression for
in a circus. But no, not at all. He was only an amateur,
the child of highly respectable and influential parents, a
gentleman’s son.”

A gentleman’s son!” repeated Mile. Monistrol,in great
surprise.

Yes,” said Courapied, nodding his head. He told
the manager that he had got into a scrape, that his father
had cut off his allowance, and that he would like to try a
roving life awhile. It was all a parcel of lies, I am sure,
but that made no difference, for there were not three
gymnasts in France that could do what he had done; so
our manager engaged him, and he never had cause to re-
pent of it, for Zig-Zag brought him in more money than
all the rest of us put together.”

And did you never discover who he really was during
all the mouths that he spent with the troupe? Did no one
ever recognize him?”

‘‘There was no danger of that, for he never appeared
before an audience unmasked.”

“ But you must have seen his face.”

“Of course; and I must admit that he had just the
face to please a woman. Besides he had what they call a
distinguished air. But I never could bear the sight of
him, with his dull, white complexion and his greenish
gray eyes — regular cat eyes. 'No one liked him, at least no
one but that good-for-nothing hussy Amanda, and even
she concealed her fondness for him. She even quarreled
Avith him sometimes, and I really thought she hated him.
But I understand now. It was only because she was

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

Jealous when he made eyes afc the ladies who applauded
him.'’

Still, they could see only the lower part of his face.”

That was enough. He has splendid teeth, and he is
well built — tall and slender as a reed, lithe as an eel and
as strong as Sampson. He had a bout with our Hercules,
and threw him without the slightest difficulty.”

^‘That is not astonishing with hands like his.”

Yes, they never let go their hold of what they once
seize upon.”

‘‘ Why does he always conceal them on the stage?”

Oh, that is a part of the performance. Besides our
fine gentleman is afraid of spoiling them. Would you
believe it? he always wears gloves when he takes a walk?”

Camille was satisfied now, and she deemed it unneces-
sary to make any further inquiries in regard to the shape
and dimensions of Zig-Zag’s hands.

Where do you suppose he went after leaving here?”
she inquired.

The deuce take me if I have the slightest idea!”

Do you think he has joined some other troupe?”

He is no such fool! All the troupes visit the same
fairs. We should be sure to meet him at Heuilly or at
Saint-Cloud, and he has no desire to encounter our man-
ager or me. Besides, Amanda has got very tired of the
business.”

Then what can have become of them? Have they
left the country?”

‘‘Yo; Amanda is too fond of Paris. I have an idea
that they will both try to gain an entrance into fashion-
able society, that is, if they have got money enough to
hold their own after they get there. How much did he
steal from you?”

‘^Twenty thousand francs.”

‘^That is twenty times more than he needs to enable
him to change his skin. It would not surprise me if they
have taken refuge in furnished rooms in the neighbor-
hood of Ciichy or on the Eoute de la Kevolte. Amanda
knows plenty of good places. You see they will want to
conceal themselves until they can get a new outfit, and
they’ll have no difficulty in procuring it in that neighbor-
hood, of little Fath^^r Rigolo. He can dress a man from
head to foot for you in less than a quarter of an hour.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

Very well, we will search for Zig-Zag wherever you
think best.”

You, mademoiselle! Oh, no, you must not think of
such a thing. It’s as much as I dare to attempt myself.
And I sha’n’t take Georget with me, you may rest assured
of that. But talk of the devil — 3^011 know the saying.
Here’s the little chap now.”

Camille turned and perceived the boy, who was really a
very handsome little fellow, with his rosy cheeks, fair curly
hair, and large blue eyes. He was evidently greatly sur-
prised to see this fine lady talking with his father, and
though he eyed her admiringly, he did. not venture to ap-
proach.

Camille smiled upon him encouragingly, and Courapied
called out:

Don’t be afraid, little chap. Come here. What have
you got?”

^^Your breakfast, father,” replied Georget, timidly.

I have picked up all the scraps I could find around the
ginger-bread booths, and I must have at least two pounds
of them.”

There, isn’t he a sharp little chap?” proudly ex-
claimed the father, dashing away a tear. He knew I
was hungry, and went off, without saying a word, to find
something for me. Gingerbread is not a very satisfactory
diet, especially when it has been trampled in the dust,
but it keeps one alive all the same, don’t it, Georget?”

Touched by this abject poverty, Camille took the little
fellow by the hand and kissed him.

He made no resistance, but he dared not lift his eyes to
hers, though he was not naturally timid. He took part
in the performance every evening with remarkable assur-
ance, but he was not accustomed to being caressed by a
well-dressed lady.

Do you know how to read?” inquired Mile. Monistrol.

Yes, madame, and how to write, too.”

You have been to school, then?”

No, madame, it was my mother who taught me.”

^^That is true,” interposed Courapied. My poor
wife was much better educated than I am.”

Ah, well,” said Camille, kindly, I will take your
mother’s place. You loved her, did you not?”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

Yes, madame, and I am sure that I shall love vou,
too/^

For the little fellow was already reassured, and now
stood gazing at the handsome young lady in evident ad-
miration.

‘‘I am going to send you and your father to a com-
fortable place, where you will both be well treated, well
lodged, and well fed,’^ added Camille.

^^But what are we to do in return for all this?”

Assist me in finding a man who has injured us both
deeply — a man and a woman,”

Zig-Zag and — I know.”

The care with which he avoided uttering Amanda’s
name in his father’s presence convinced Camille that this
child, with his evidently precocious mind, Avould prove a
valuable auxiliary.

It Avon’t be any easy matter,” continued the boy,
‘‘Ah, if they had left Vigoureux here! But they took
good care not to do that.”

“ Vigoureux?” questioned Camille.

“Yes; Zig-Zag’s dog. He Avould find his master for
us.”

Georget had scarcely uttered these Avords Avhen an
enormous dog dashed by the child, grazing his legs, and
nearly throwing him down.

“ There’s the dog now!” exclaimed Courapied. Zig-
Zag can not be far off.”

Camille, pale Avith excitement, glanced around for the
acrobat, but saAv no sign of him.

The dog, Avithout pausing, rushed to the building, went
straight to a place Avhere the boards did not quite reach
the ground, dug away the earth with his huge paws to
enlarge this opening, and then forced his Avay through it.

“ Quick, Georget; a rope and a strap!” cried Courapied.

The boy did not ask his father what he Avanted of these
articles; he understood at once, and running to the horses
that Avere grazing near by, he took a knife from his pocket,
seA^ered the rope that bound them, slipped off one of the
halters, and immediately stationed himself, on his knees,
by the hole through Avhich the dog had gained admission
to the building.

Mile. Monistrol Avatched these proceedings in silent as-
tonishment, for she did not understand the object of these

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOAVil.

strange orders. In response to her inquiring look, the
clown said, rubbing his hands complacently:

‘‘We are in luck.”

^^How so?” stammered Camille.

Vigoureux will take us to Zig-Zag.”

What! that formidable looking bull-dog?”

Yes. He hasn’t his equal for following a scent. If
he was taken ten leagues, he would have no difficulty in
finding his way home. The fact that he has come straight
here from the other end of Paris is sufficient proof of
that.”

But if he loves his master so much he would not leave
him.”

Don’t you believe that, mademoiselle. He has been
trained to do errands. Every morning Zig-Zag used to
send him to the butcher’s with a basket, and some money
in the basket. As soon as he was waited on, he let the
butcher take the money, but not before, and he would
then bring the meat back without touching it. It was that
hussy, Amanda, who taught him.”

And what of it?” inquired Camille, who was still in
the dark.

“Whj^ I shouldn’t be afraid to bet you anything you
like that Zig-Zag has left something — something that he
is anxious to get hold of — and that he has sent the dog
for it.”

^‘JFather,” whispered Georget, “ I hear him. He is tear-
ing up the floor with his teeth and paws.”

Because what he was sent for is concealed under the
floor, probably. Let him alone. He will make his ap-
pearance with it presently. That will be the time to
catch him. Keep your eyes open, little one.”

The warning was superfluous, for crouching close to the
building, like a terrier watching for a rat, the child
waited, ready to slip the halter around the mouth of the
beast, at the imminent risk of having his fingers snapped
off in the attempt.

Mile. Monistrol, more and more astonished, was on
the point of questioning him further, but Courapied
motioned her to be silent. The decisive moment was fast
approaching, and it would not do to frighten V'igoureux;
for in that case he might make his escape at the other end
of the building.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

But Vigoiireux did nob seem to consider any such ruse
necessary, for his thick nose soon appeared at the edge of
the hole. But he had no little difficulty in getting it
through, for he held between his teeth n long narrow box.

^‘See! what did I tell you?’’ exclaimed Courapied.

Isn’t he a knowing beast? Look out, Georget; now’s
your time. Take care not to let him bite jou.”

Georget performed his rather difficult task with no lit-
tle skill. He dexterously slipped the halter around the
dog’s jaws, gave it three or four quick twists, and then
buckled it firmly. The whole thing was done in the
twinkling of an eye.

Vigoureux would gladly have used his teeth; but to
bite, he would have been obliged to drop the box, and he
was faithful to his trust.

When he found himself thus muzzled he tried to retreat
under the building, but Georget had his rope ready, and
without losing a second, he slipped it through the ring in
the collar the dog wore about his neck, and began to pull
with all his might.

Vigoureux began to pull in the opposite direction, and
he was much stronger than this twelve-year-old boy, so
the father sprung to his aid.

They soon succeeded in pulling out the enormous ani-
mal, who instantly rushed upon Georget, and felled him
to the ground, but the hastily improvised muzzle pre-
vented him from defending himself in an effective man-
ner, and also from dropping his master’s box.

^^Now, mademoiselle, we have our man,” remarked
Courapied with a triumphant air, ^^or at least, we can
have him whenever we like. With a guide like this, lam
sure of finding Zig-Zag, and I shall start out in pursuit of
him this very evening.”

I should like to know the contents of the box,” mur-
mured Camille.

‘‘1 don’t believe there is any money in it,” was the re-
ply. When Zig-Zag has any of that he makes it fly,
and it is not likely that he left what he stole from your
father here. See, every time Vigoureux shakes the box,
there is a rattling like that of old iron, but no ring of
coin.”

The money Zig-Zag took was in bank-notes.”

The deuce of it is that there is no way of opening the

ZIG-ZAG^ TH^: CLOWJSr.

box, or even of getting hold of it,’’ remarked Courapied.

Vigoreux can not open his jaws, and if I iinmnzzle him
he will tear ns to pieces. But what shall I do with him
until night?”

‘‘Take him to my house,” replied Camille. “ I live
alone with my old nurse a few steps from here. You can
accompany me home, fasten the dog in the wood-shed,
and then leave your son with me while you go and pur-
chase clothing for yourself and him. Come, we have ne
time to lose.”

“ I hope we sha’n’t have to drag the beast along. See,,
he is pulling in the direction of the Boulevard Voltaire.”

“That is the very direction in which we are going.”

“ So much the better. Come along, Georget, you will
not have to go hungry any more. Thank the lady, and
serve her faithfully, for if she had not offered us a help
Tng hand there would have been nothing left for us but to
drown ourselves.”

“I would go through fire and water for her,” replied
the child, Avith tears in his eyes.

CHAPTER III.

Easter came very late that year. The fair was still in
progress, and the concert halls in the Champs-Elysees
Avere beginning to open. In Paris this last is a sure sign
that spring has indeed come. Those who make it the
business of their lives to enjoy themselves, are not obliged
to consult the calendar before changing their amusements^
and instead of shutting themselves up in theaters, they
gladly avail themselves of the opportunity to go Avhere
they are sure to find ladies in light spring toilets, and
Avhere they can dine to the sound of sweet music.

At least Julien Gemozac and Alfred de Eresnay did so
on the evening of tlie day Camille Monistrol first pre-
sented herself at the house of her father’s partner,

Julien had not yet quite forgiven his friend for the
shabby trick he had played upon him by deserting him
after their adventure near the Barriere du Trone.

Still, they had met, as usual, at the club, between the
hours of five and seven, and a successful game of cards
having put them both in good humor, they had mutually

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWISr. 47

agreed to spend the evening at the Cafe des Ambassa-
deurs.

They found the elite of Parisian society assembled there,
and deemed themselves fortunate in securing one of the
best tables, one near the middle of the restaurant, and
close to the balustrade. They had come to enjoy them-
selves, and they did enjoy themselves, though the two
were not in the same mood by any means.

Fresnay, in the wildest of spirits, exchanged smiling
salutations and jokes with his numerous acquaintances,
and ridiculed the singers, though all this did not prevent
him from eating and drinking enough for four.

Julien, being less exuberant in his nature, found his
enjoyment in thinking of a host of things in no way con-
nected with the gay scene around him. He was begin-
ning to find that even the most luxurious existence becomes'
monotonous when it is aimless.

He recollected, too, that he was nearing his thirtieth
year, and that domestic life has its charms.

He was thinking, above all, of Camille Monistrol, the
beautiful and thoughtful girl whom he had seen that
morning, and who was such a striking contrast to the gay
butterflies around him; and he asked himself if he would
not do well to enter the ranks of staid and respectable
family men without delay.

To do this, he had only to adopt the course which
Mile. Monistrol bad indicated, and which had many
charms for him by reason of its very difficulties. To
seek adventures and brave dangers to win the hand of
a lovely and noble girl was more pleasant and more novel
than to allow himself to be quietly married to some rich
heiress by his parents.

These sage reflections were at last interrupted by Fres-
nay who, annoyed by his companion’s taciturnity, ex-
claimed:

What is the matter with you? You are as stupid as
an owl. This is our third bottle of champagne, and you'
haven’t opened your lips except to drink. By the time I
began the second, I was as gay as a lark; and now I be-
gin to feel like committing any act of folly.

I don’t,” replied Julien, laconically.

Will you bet me a hundred francs that I don’t dare to
mount the platform and sing a love song?”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

Yon are quite capable of it, but you would be taken
to the station-house; and I should let you go, if only to
pay you for treating me as you did the other night.

What! are you still angry with me about that? Why^
you ought to thank me. I left you alone with a young
lady you evidently admired very much.’^

And with a murdered man.'^

^^My dear, I had invited two very charming young
ladies to supper, and —

“Oh, hush! You will never be anything but an idler
and scapegrace.”

“ So you think I have no romance in my soul. You are
very much mistaken, my dear fellow. On the contrary^
I am longing for all sorts of chivalrous adventures. Yes,
I, Alfred de Fresnay, a nobleman by birth, and a skeptic
by profession, dream of an ideal. The only trouble is that
I can not find her. Still, there are times when I feel a
wild desire to sacrifice myself for a woman. Siiow me one
that is worth the trouble, and I will declare myself ready
to defend her against the whole world. You shrug your
shoulders, and evidently think I am jesting. That is be-
cause you do not know me. I have romantic tendencies
— so much the worse for you if you have not discovered
them — latent tendencies — ”

“That appear oirly when you are drunk.”

“ And when I have won at baccarat. But you have
only to put me to the test.”

“ Look! there is your ideal ix>w,^’ replied Gernozac, who
was becoming tired of all this nonsense.

“What! that lady who just came in? Well, I canT
contradict you. She certainly is a superb creature, and
her style of beauty is wonderfully unique.”

The ideal referred to was a tall, magnificently formed
woman, utterly unlike those of her own sex, by whom she
was surrounded. They — whether blondes or brunettes — ^
were all formed on the same model, and attired in the
same fashion, while the new-comer wore a sliowy costume
to which no fashionable modiste would have pleaded guilty,,
and which must have been devised expressly to attract
notice. Her hair was of a rich chestnut hue, over which
painters of the sixteenth century went wild; her eyes
sparkled like two black diamonds, and with her broad-
brimmed hat, loaded with long curling plumes, she

ZIG-ZAG, THE GLOWI^. 49

looked like a Velasquez that had just stepped out of her
frame.

Her entrance had evidently caused a sensation. Some
smiled sneeringly, others giggled. The new-comer was
evidently a stranger, though she could hardly be a debu-
tante, as she did not seem at all timid, but stood survey-
ing the crowd rather scornfully, jostled every now and
then by the waiters, who were flying back and forth from
the restaurant to the terrace.

Fresnay did not neglect this opportunity to convince
his friend that daring adventures had no terrors for him,
for he rose, walked straight up to the lady, and said, with-
out any preamble whatever:

You are looking for a seat, madame. There is one at
our table.”

Ko, I am looking for a friend,” she remarked coldly.

A friend who has failed to keep his appointment, as
he is not here. Dine with us.”

have dined, but I should like a seat.”

Fresnay gallantly offered the fair stranger his arm, and
conducted her to the chair \yhich he had just vacated,
and which she took possession of without any urging.

Gemozac would gladly have dispensed with the society
his companion had forced upon him, and yet his curiosity
was aroused.

‘MYhere have I seen this face?” he said to himself.

But closely as he examined the features of this chestnut-
haired beauty, he was unable to recall the circumstances
under which he had seen her before. Perhaps he was even
deceived by some chance resemblance.

Fresnay, elated by his discovery, already began to assume
a complacent air. The strange lady did not seem to
notice this, however. In fact, she did not even appear
conscious that she was sitting at table with two gentlemen
who were well worthy of any woman’s notice. On the
contrary, she seemed to be entirely engrossed by the gay
scene around her. Indeed it absorbed her to such an ex-
tent that she was wholly oblivious of her neighbor’s ad-
miring glances.

Confess that you came to see Chailli6, the little hunch-
back,” said Fresnay. ‘^All the ladies are raving about
him.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

I never even heard of him/^ replied the stranger, dis-
dainfully.

^^Then this must be your first visit to the Cafe des
Ambassadeurs?’’

Yes. AVhat are those girls sitting there on the stage
for? Are they going to sing?’^

No. They are slnlply^^«^m^^^^5.’’

Why are they dressed, one in blue, another in red,
another in yellow, and another in green? They look like
so many parrots.’’

^'Madame has hit it exactly. Madame is probably a
dramatic or perhaps a lyric artist?”

Nothing of the kind. A foreigner.”

That does not surprise me. French women do not
have eyes and hair like yours. You must be a Spaniard.”

No, a Hungarian.”

Your nationality will not prevent you from accepting
a glass of champagne, perhaps?”

I should like it very much, for I am thirsty.”

Fresnay hastened to fill a champagne glass.

No,” interposed the lady, not in that. I would
rather have a cup.”

I will ask the waiter to bring one.”

No, it isn’t worth the trouble. This will do.”

And taking the proffered glass, she emptied it at a
single draught.

Interested in spite of himself in this original stranger,
Julien tried harder than ever to recollect where he had
met her, but being unsuccessful, he finally ventured on
this question :

May I ask, madame, how long have you been in Paris?
I have never been in Hungary, and yet I can not help
fancying that your face is not unknown to mo.”

- That is quite possible. I arrived in Paris only last
week, but I have been almost everywhere already, for I
want to see everything that is to be seen.”

‘^Have you been doing Paris alone?” inquired Fresnay,
eagerly.

Yes, sir. I can dispense with a protector, for I am
not afraid of anything or anybody.”

Then you are not married?”

I want no husband.”

What am I to understand from that?”

ZIG-ZA.G, THE CLOWH.

That I wish to do as I please; and jus now it pleases
me to visit every nook and corner of this strange city. It
is not in monuments and works of art that I am most in-
terested. I want to see the Paris J have read so much
about in French novels — the drinking saloons, the gam--
blingdens, the — ’’

And so you began the evening with a concert cafL
That is right, madame. But there are many places of
greater interest, and if you will accept me as a guide, I
can truthfully assure you that you could not find a better
one.”

Thanks; but I have one already.”

^^Oh, yes, an interpreter furnished by the hotel at
which you are stopping. He will take you to the mint,
the markets and the slaughter-houses, while an old Paris-
ian like myself could show you places that strangers never
see.”

You are mistaken, sir. My guide is no hireling, but
one of my compatriots, who has resided in this country
nearly ten years, and who was a fi'iend of my father’s. He
has placed himself at my disposal, and we go out sight-
seeing together almost every day. I expected to find him
here this evening. He told me he should dine here.”

And he has failed to keep his word. Tluit is unpar-
donable in him, but I will do my best to take his place.
Where would you like to go, after the concert is over?
Speak, do not hesitate. Would you like to see Father
Lunette’s saloon, ‘ The City of the Sun,’ commonly known
as Little Mazas? Or would you prefer to sup at the ^ Squir-
rel’s Grave?’ the rag-picker’s favorite haunt.”

These places must be very interesting, but it is my
ambition to witness the pursuit of a criminal or an assassin
— such an one as I have read of in Gaboriau’s novels.”

The woman must be mad,” thought Julien.

I can readily understand such a desire on your part,”
replied the imperturbable Fresnay. But, unfortunately,
there is no particular day appointed for such expeditions.
Besides you, who seem to be so familiar with our language,,
must know the proverb: ^ To make hare soup, you must
have, first, a hare,’ and assassins, fortunately, are even
more rare than hares.”

. One would not think so from the newspapers. There
is hardly a day in which mention is not made of some

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWI^.

new crime. Why, the very day after my arrival, all Paris
was talking of a murder on the Boulevard — I forget the
name. Oh, the Boulevard Voltaire.”

Yes, that murder was of quite recent occurrence, and
a very strange affair it was, too.”

Juiien gave Fresnay a warning kick under the table;
but the latter, ignoring it entirely, continued:

^^And I shall doubtless surprise you very much, my
dear madame, when I tell you that I and my friend here
were both mixed up in the affair.”

You, sir?” exclaimed the lady, with a questioning
glance at Gemozac, who felt a strong desire to pomniel his
companion.

Fresnay answered for him, however.

^^Yes,” he cried, my friend, Julian Gemozac, whom
I have the honor to introduce to you, first discovered the
body. By the merest chance we happened to be near the
scene of the crime. But the strangest thing of all is that
Juiien is well acquainted with the murdered man’s daugh-
ter.”

True, the papers did state that he had a daughter,”
murmured the stranger.

And a very pretty girl she is, too, and young,” added
Alfred.

Ah! how I pity her. I know what is to be left an
orphan just as one is entering life. I was sixteen when I
lost my father, but I came into possession of a large
fortune at his death, while this poor child probably finds
herself reduced to poverty.”

You can cease to trouble yourself on that point, my
dear madame.”

‘^Indeed?” exclaimed the stranger, with an eagerness
that surprised Gemozac not a little.

Yes,” replied Fresnay, ^^slie will be very rich, though
her father hadn’t a penny. It seems that he invented
some improvement to be applied to steam engines, and
that the invention is going to yield his daughter an enor-
mous amount of money. Juiien here can explain all tins
to you much better than I can, for his father was associ-
ated with the murdered man in the enterprise, and con-
sequently is now in partnership with the daughter.”

Will you never have done talking about this uninter-
esting matter?” exclaimed Juiien, now thoroughly ex-

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH. 53

asperated with his half-intoxicated conapanion who seemed
to take a sly pleasure in these indiscreet disclosures.

Pardon me, sir/’ said the stranger, gently. I have
offended you, though unintentionally, I assure you, by
questioning your friend about a person in whom you seem
to take an interest. I regret it exceedingly. I also did
very wrong to seat myself at your table, for you must
have a very poor opinion of me. It is all the fault of
my training, and of the education I received, however.

I have always been in the habit of acting without the
slightest constraint, and without stopping to consider the
apparent significance of my words and actions. But I
beg that you will not mistake me for an adventuress. I
am the widow of the Count de Lugos, and I am staying
at the Grand Hotel until I can find more suitable quarters.

If you will call and see me; I think you will change your
opinion in regard to me, and I will present you to my -
compatriot, Monsieur Tergowitz, whom I expected to
meet here this evening.”

^^Can it be that you are going to close your doors
against me?” cried Fresnay.

^‘No, sir, though I trust that you are going to be so
kind as to tell me your name.”

I presented my friend Gemozac, but as he does not
seem inclined to return the favor, I shall be compelled to
introduce myself. Alfred, Baron de Fresnay, at your
service, madame; twenty-nine years of age, an orphan,
likewise a bachelor, and a landed proprietor in Anjou.
Julien and myself represent respectively the aristocracy
and the tiers-etat,hut I would gladly exchange the revenues
of my barony for Father Gemozac’s millions, which will
descend to his only son some day or other.”

It is enough for me to know that I have to deal with
two gentlemen. I should be charmed to see you again,
gentlemen, but I doubt if you will retain any recollection
of this chance meeting.”

I will convince you to the contrary, and soon,” pro-
tested Fresnay, who was becoming more and more infatu-
ated with the chestnut-haired beauty.

Julien said not a word. He did not believe the asser-
tions of this beautiful stranger, who impressed him as
being a mere intrigante. In fact, he was even beginning
to suspect that she had her reasons for endeavoring to be-

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWI^.

come acquainted with them, and he secretly anathema-
tized Alfred for his imprudence.

‘‘ But is the performance over?’^ asked the stranger sud-
denly. The gayly dressed damsels have disappeared, and
the stage is empty.”

They will return by and by, after a performance on
the trapeze, which is not likely to interest you much.”

Pardon me, I enjoy the feats of gymnasts exceedingly,
and am very anxious to see if these excel ours in skill.

“ Gymnasts,” repeated G6mozac, mentally, she uses-
the right word, and speaks French very correctly. Where
can she have come from? She will never make me believe
that she is really a woman of rank. She is some ci-devant
governess, probably, as that fool of an Alfred will find
out, doubtless, without my having to trouble myself about
the matter.”

Alfred continued to drink champagne, while the strange
countess sat wacching, with marked attention, the per-
formance of two artists in flesh-colored tights who were
executing extraordinary feats on the horizontal bar. She
was a judge, unquestionably, for she soon greeted a suc-
cessful leap with an approving nod of the head, and the
next minute made a contemptuous grimace when she
noted the rather clumsy execution of a much less difficult
feat.

The chair the gallant Fresnay had relinquished to her
was close to the balustrade, and the lady whose attention
seemed to be so irresistibly attracted by this interesting
performance finally turned and leaned both elbows on
the wooden railing, without troubling herself about the
two young men sitting at the table with her. Julien
could see only her profile, and Alfred was even less fort-
unate, for she had turned her back upon him.

The diners of both sexes that thronged the terrace paid
no attention to this ill-assorted trio, so the two friends
exchanged signs which the Hungarian, seated as she vvas,
could not see.

Let us decamp as soon as possible,” said Julien in
pantomime. don’t want to be bored with this woman
all the evening.”

‘^1 like her,” responded Alfred, in the same way.

Go, if you like, but I shall remain and see the end of
the adventure.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

So no one moved, thongli Julien, in his secret heart, was
fuming violently. He would have been glad to make liis
escape; but he felt sure that if he rose to do so, Alfred
would protest, and insist upon knowing his reason for
this hasty departure.

While 4ie reluctantly sat there, facing the balustrade,
like the stranger, Julien suddenly noticed, in the crowd
below, a gentleman who stood gazing up at the terrace as
if looking for some one among the diners.

This gentleman was young, good-looking, well-dressed,
and well-gloved; so it was not at all surprising that he
should be eying the pretty girls seated at the tables above
him; but Julien soon perceived that his attention was be-
stowed exclusively upon the pretended countess, and that
he must know her, for he made a gesture which could be
addressed only to her, and which seemed to signify:

Very well. I understand. All right.”

Julien had seen only the close of the pantomime, but
the discovery increased his distrust.

Farewell, acrobats!” exclaimed Fresnay. They have
finished at last. Now we shall have some more singing.
Is Madame la Comtesse anxious to hear more shrill so-
pranos and superannuated tenors?”

By no means,” replied the lady. My friend does
not make his appearance, and it is useless for me to wait
for him, for I begin to think he has forgotten his ap-
pointment.”

Very fortunately, I am at hand to serve you, my dear
madame, and I promise to show you a novel sight if you
will trust yourself to my guidance.”

I shall not refuse if your friend will consent to be of
the party.”

‘‘Pray do not count upon me,” replied Julien, hastily.

“ Yes, you must come,” remarked Fresnay, “for I am
going to take you to a place where you will stand a very
good chance of meeting Monsieur Monistrol’s assassin, and
you know you promised Mademoiselle Monistrol to assist
her in finding the scoundrel.”

“ Who is Mademoiselle Monistrol?” inquired the so-
called Countess de Lugos.

“The daughter of the inventor I was speaking of just
now. I have seen her but once, and I am by no means
sure that I should know her, but my friend Gemozac is

56 ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

destined to see a good deal of her, and he is' in love with
her already.’’

Pray hold your tongue,” interrupted Julien.

^‘Do nob be ashamed of a sentiment that certainly does
you honor, sir,” remarked the noble foreigner. This
young girl is alone in the world, I believe, and dt is only
natural that you should become her champion; and if she
really thinks of avenging her father — ”

^^She thinks of nothing else,” exclaimed Fresnay.

And as Julien turned sternly upon him to silence him,
the incorrigible talker added:

You told me so yourself. You also told me that she has
sworn to marry the man who ferrets out the assassin, and
it is no mean prize, this hand of Mademoiselle Monistrol,
as her father’s invention will yield her millions. I should,
perliaps, have entered the field myself, but the lady has a
sort of grudge against me; besides, I can employ my time
better.”

As he spoke, he bestowed an ardent glance upon the
beautiful Hungarian, who responded by an encouraging
smile.

Just at this moment a waiter approached the table, and
asked :

Shall I give niadame a card that a gentleman request-
ed me to deliver to the Countess de Lugos?”

Yes,” replied the stranger, reaching out her hand for
the card.

She had no sooner glanced at the name inscribed upon
it than she exclaimed:

knew that Monsieur Tergowitz would not disappoint
me. He is here; he has seen me and requests my per-
mission to join me.”

Then turning to the waiter, she said:

Tell the gentleman I am coming.”

AYhat! you are going to leave us?” replied Fresnay.

^^To my very great regret, sir; but I have an engage-
ment with the gentleman, as I remarked before.”

Introduce us to him, and let all four of us finish the
evening together.”

That would be delightful, bub I think it would be better
to defer the presentation until some future time, and
until I have had the pleasure of receiving a call from you.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

Is yonr compatriot also stopping at the Grand Hotel?’’
asked Fresnay.

‘‘No; but I am alone, and time often hangs heavy on
my hands. Monsieur Tergowitz knows it, and comes
almost every day to keep me company.”

“So an revoir, gentlemen — or farewell,” the stranger
added, rising with such a deliberate and determined air
that Fresnay stood aside to let her pass, and made no
further attempt to detain her.

Gemozac scarcely waited for her to get out of hearing
before he gave vent to his indignation.

“Are you determined to anger me beyond endurance?”
he exclaimed hotly.

“ What do you mean?” retorted Alfred, coldly. “Are
you angry because I tried to ingratiate myself into the
favor of a very pretty woman? — for she is pretty, you can
not deny it.”

“Make love to her as much as you like, that is nothing
to me; but don’t tell her my affairs or those of my friends,
if you please,” was the angry response.

“ So you are offended because I spoke of you and Mad-
emoiselle Monistrol. What’s the harm, pray? She doesn’t
know you, and it is not likely that she will ever meet the
young lady in whom you are so deeply interested. The
countess came to Paris to enjoy herself, and not to meddle
with matters that do not concern her,”

“ Then you think she is a genuine countess? You real-
ly are inconceivably stupid.”

“ Not so stupid as you may suppose, perhaps. I care
very little about her noble origin, but I think her a very
charming person, and I am looking forward to a very
agreeable acquaintance.”

“ Take care that she does not lead you further than you
want to go. In my opinion, this pretended countess is an
adventuress of the worst kind; and her friend, Monsieur
Tergowitz, is probably no better than she is, I saw him
making signs to her, and I have no doubt that they un-
derstand each other perfectly. You’ll get yourself into a
pretty mess if you pursue the acquaintance any further.
Still, it makes na difference to me. Put yonr head into
the noose if you like, but never mention my name again
before these people.”

“Nor that of Mademoiselle Monistrol. Very well. It

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

is more than likely that the countess has forgotten both
name^s by this time, however; and it is quite certain that
she never expects to see you again, for you said nothing
but disagreeable things to her all the while she was with
us.^’

I didn’t say half as many disagreeable things to her
as I wanted to. I dislike the woman as much as you
seem to like her, and that is saying a good deal. I have
a presentiment that she is going to cause me trouble.” -

How can she possibly harm 3^11? You have evident-
ly decided not to call upon her, so it is not at all probable
that you will ever see her again. Besides, what possible
object could she have in doing you an injury? You were
not very polite to her; still, that is no reason why she
should declare war upon you.”

What if I should tell you that I am almost certain I
have seen her somewhere else, and in an entirely dilferent
costume? Nor can I get it out of my head that she came
here expressly to enter into conversation with us, and
to induce us to tell her things she is interested in know-
ing, In that case you served her well, for you gave her
any quantity of information that she did not even ask
for. ”

Only in regard to Mademoiselle Monistrol. You have
mounted your hobby again, I see.”

Try at least to atone for your folly by helping me to
discover with whom we have liad to deal. It will be an
easy matter for you to obtain some clew when you call on
her, for she must have a maid, and a louis or two will
induce her to tell you all 3^011 want to know about her
mistress.”

So now you want me to play the spy! Such a r61e
does not suit me at all; still, if only to cure you of your
prejudice against this poor countess — There, I see her
now! She is talking with a gentleman over yonder in the
corner.”

Yes, with the same gentleman who was making signs
to her a few moments ago. I recognize him perfectly.”

It is the Hungarian nobleman, of course.”

^^He is neither a Hungarian nor a nobleman, I can
vouch for that.”

He is very good-looking, at all events. They seem to
be carrying on a very animated conversation. See, they

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLO^Vls,

have seated themselves, side by side, in two arm-chairs. It
is a pity we can not hear what they are saying. You would
know what to think — and so would I.’’

There was more truth in Fresnay’s words than he sup-
posed, for the conversation between the foreigner and her
escort would have removed all doubts in regard to their
character and relations.

We had better not remain here,’’ said the man. They
can see us from up there.” '

know it,” his companion replied, but I told them
I was going to join you. If we should leave immediately,
it would look very much as if we were running away.
To play my r61e well, I must remain quietly talking with
jou.”

Then the bate took. What did you tell them?”

That I am the Countess de Lugos — that I came to
Paris to amuse myself, and that I have no acquaintance
in the city except a compatriot, a Hungarian nobleman by
the name of Tergowitz. You, of course, are Tergowitz.

And they swallowed the yarn?”

^'They pretended to swallow it, and that is all I care
about for the present.”

They did not recognize you, then?”

^^No; I am sure of that.”

Good! Now which is which?”

The short one is Alfred de Fresnay. He is a baron,
and seems to think only of enjoying himself. He took a
great fancy to me, evidently, and I am certain to see iiini
again — and soon. He is not dangerous, but I am afraid
of the other — the tall light-complexioned one. He did
not say much, but he never once took his eyes off me.”

^^Did you find out his name?”

I took good care to do that, and I can give you full
particulars in regard to him. He is Julien Gemozac, the
son of Monsieur Gemozac.”

The Gemozac who owns a factory on the Quai de
Jemmapes? He must be worth his millions, then.”

^^Yes, and what is more, he was the partner of the
girl’s father. Well, this young man happened to be at
the fair on the very evening of the murder. But tiie
strangest thing about it all is that the Monistrol girl is
rich. Her father invented something or other, and the
invention is going to yield a great deal of money.”

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWH.

^^That is something worth knowing.’’

I have not finished. Tlie fair maiden has
sworn to avenge her father, and offers her hand as a re-
ward for the person who discovers the perpetrator of the
crime. And Julien Gemozac is determined to win the
prize; so we are warned.”

I am not afraid of them.”

Nor am I. They will be no more dangerous than the
judge of instruction, probably. But there is that brute
Courapied. He will be sure to recognize us if he meets
us, and you may rest assured that he will keep a sharp
lookout for us. Perhaps it would be well for us to spend
two or three months in England.”

Nonsense! That would only be a waste of money^
while we are sure of success if we remain in Paris. You
remember the programme, don’t you?”

Perfectly. Each of us is to work on his own hook,
and we are to share the profits. You told them that you
were staying at the Grand Hotel, didn’t you?”

Yes, and I am almost certain that Fresnay will pay
me a visit to-morrow.”

Then you must take up your quarters there to-mor-
row morning with your maid and baggage. The trunks
are waiting for you at the Western Railway Station, where
I deposited them in your name. You will only have to
call for them, and this evening I will bring you your
maid. You know her, however.”

Olga, I suppose you mean. She is a sharp one, and
if she can be trusted — ”

feel as sure of her as I do of you. Besides, she is at
my mercy. If she attempts to rebel, I have the means of
sending her to the penitentiary for a year. I don’t feel
inclined to assume this character of a Hungarian noble-
man that you have invented for me. I should only be in
your way, and it would be bettei^ for me not to figure in
the comedy you are going to play. I shall take up my
abode somewhere else, and not under the name of Ter-
gowitz, I think.”

“ As you please, provided I see you every day.”

Very well; we can meet in our cottage on the Plaine
Saint-Denis, unless something happens to prevent. But
everywhere else we must pretend to be strangers to each
other.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH. 61

^^But those idiots dining up there have seen me with
you.’^

shall try to keep out of their way in future. Be-
sides, I don’t intend that you shall go too far with that
swell you have just captivated. You are to receive him,
and let him make love to you, but merely in order to keep
posted in regard to every movement of his friend, G6-
mozac, who is probably going to turn detective merely to
please the girl. I will attend to her.”

Very well; but no foolishness, my dear. If you think
of entering the field as a rival of Gemozac’s, you’ll be sorry
for it. I shouldn’t hesitate to denounce you in that case.
I’ve no intention of playing second fiddle, I haven’t.”

You need have no fears of that. We are bound to-
gether, and when we have retired from business, with our
fortune made, we will go abroad, and marry. But
see, the gentlemen are leaving the table, and they are
quite capable of coming down to take a look at me. It
is time for us to go. It is the last night we shall have to
spend at the Grange- Eoiige, but you know I must go
there after Vigoureux. He must have returned some
time ago, and we shall probably find him asleep on the
box I sent him for.”

‘^^You had much better have left the box where it was.
Vigoureux is a very clever dog, but some one might have
followed him.”

Who? The old barracks is empty now; besides, I had
no desire to leave the contents of my box for the first per-
son who happened along. Our forgetting it in our hasty
flight has caused me worry enough already. When I
get hold of it again, I sh^ll feel more easy in mind.”

The estimable couple left the garden by the door open-
ing on the Place de la Concorde just as Alfred and Julien
entered it by way of the restaurant.

They had decided to go down to the garden to take an-
other look at the countess and her escort, but they were
too late. The birds had flown.

^^Bah!” cried Fresnay, vv ho always took things cheer-
fully, there is nothing lost after all. To-morrow I 'will
give you a full account of Madame de Lugos and Monsieur
Tergowitz.”

ZIG-ZAG; THE CLOWJS^

CHAPTER IV.

While Jiilien Gemozac and his friend Fresnay were
looking in vain for Mine, 'de Lugos, who had jnst dis-
appeared with her equally mysterious escort, Camille
Monistrol and her auxiliaries were preparing to start out
upon their chase.

The clock had just struck ten when they assembled in
the kitchen of the little house on the Boulevard Voltaire,
— all three in full battle array.

Courapied had executed Camille’s orders with intelli-
genge and dispatch. A ready made clothing store had not
only provided him with an outfit, but furnished him with a
costume for Georget, and likewise one for Mile. Monistrol.

The clown now wore the garb of a plain but respectable
denizen of the suburbs, and Georget looked very trim in
a dark blue jacket with a triple row of silver buttons, and
a jaunty cap trimmed with silver lace, the uniform of a
restaurant page.

But the most successful disguise of all was that of
Camille, who was dressed as a journeyman printer, with
a long white blouse, and a Mret that entirely concealed
her beautiful black hair, which had been dressed high on
the head for the occasion.

One would have supposed that she had worn masculine
attire all her life, and as she was quite as tall as Courapied
no one would have taken her for a woman. Even Brigitte
began to believe that the people in the street would be de-
ceived.

Not that she approved of this nocturnal expedition in
company with a professional clown and a child of the
ring. On the contrary, she had endeavored to dissuade
her young mistress from the project by every means in her
power; but as all her eloquence had availed nothing, she
had resigned herself with tolerably good grace to what she
was. powerless to prevent.

The old nurse was a robust woman, as strong and sun-
burnt as a peasant, as brave as an old soldier, and as faith-
ful as a dog.

She had treated Courapied rather ungraciou&ly at first,
but she loved children, and Georget soon won her heart to

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

such a degree that she exerted herself to the uicermost to
prepare a good dinner, to which the father and son did
ample justice.

Brigitte would even have bestowed a portion on Vigour-
eux, but he could not eat without being unmuzzled, and
Courapied was strongly opposed to doing that. He knew
the animal, and declared that the ferocious dog^ would
devour some one as soon as he could make use of his jaws.
He was now lying in one corner of the kitchen,, tied to a
large table, with the box still between his teeth, and
foam upon his lips, growling sullenly, and rolling his
blood-shot eyes. It was evident that he realized his
defeat, but it was also evident that he was waiting for an
opporUinity to secure his revenge.

We are ready, said Camille. It is time to start.

^^You had much better remain at home,^’ growled
Brigitte.

Particularly as Georget and I can perform our task
very well without you, mademoiselle. Indeed, I would
much prefer to go alone,’’ said Courapied.

No, father,” interposed Georget, eagerly, Mademoi-
selle told me I might go, and I am going.”

We will all go,” replied Mile. Monistrol, firml3\ ^^If
there is any danger, I wish to share it.”

Danger!” repeated Courapied, ‘^I am sure there can
be no danger, as we are merely going to try to discover
Zig-Zag’s hiding-place. If we thought of arresting him
that would be an entirely different matter, for the scoun-
drel would defend himself, and we should be likely to have
a pretty hard time of it.”

All I want this evening is to get a glimpse of him,”
said Camille. When I have once seen him, I know
what I shall do next.”

I am afraid it will be no very easy matter to see him
without his seeing us. You may rest assured that he will
not show himself in any public place.”

Tlie main thing is to find out where he is, and if the
dog takes us there, as you think he will — ”

Oh! I can answer for that — that is, unless Vigoureux
gets away from us, and he won’t do that, for the rope is
strong, and I have a good grip. He will take us straight
to his master’s hiding-place, I am sure. It is when we
reach that, that our troubles will really begin. But I

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

can’b bear the idea of letting the box go, at least, not
until I know what is in it/’

We might kill Vigoureux and then break open the
box.” suggested Georget,

That idea is very pleasing to you because the dog has
bitten you so often, and I shouldn’t mind putting an end
to him myself. But, witliout his assistance we should
never succeed in finding Zig-Zag; though if we should
succeed in opening the box, we would probably find his
papers.”

And something else. If it contained nothing but
papers, it wouldn’t make such a noise when Vigoureux
shakes it.”

There are skeleton keys in it, perhaps, or a dirk. I
have known for a long time that he had one, though I
never knew what he did with it.”

Camille listened to this conversation between father and
son with a slight frown.

You seem to be afraid, of this man,” she said, coldly,
have reason to be, mademoiselle,” replied Cour-

apied.

‘^Very well, I will go alone. The dog will guide me.
I am strong enough to hold him.”

As if I would allow such a thing! I should be a cow-
ard, indeed! What I said just now was only because I
couldn’t bear the idea of giving up to the box. But there
will be some way to avoid that, perha|>s. When we have
once found out where Zig-Zag is, we can bring Vigoureux
back with us; and then, as we shall have no further need
of liim, I will give myself the pleasure of shooting him.”

As he spoke, Courapied gave the dog a kick that made
him spring to his feet with a stifled growl. At the same
time, Georget untied the rope that bound him to the
table leg, and handed the end of it to his father.

A struggle ensued between the man and the animal;
but Vigoureux, being securely muzzled, did not prove a
very formidable antagonist, and soon began to tug hard
at his chain to reach the door.

^^See, he is anxious to go,” said Courapied. ^MVe have
only to follow him, and he will take us along at a good
round pace.”

Camille kissed Brigitte affectionately, and said to her,
with all tlie coolness of an old soldier:

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

I am not at borne before morning, go and inform
Monsieii)’. Gemozac, at No. 124 Quai de Jemmapes. Tell
him wliat occurred here this evening. He will take the
necessary steps to find me.”

‘^^Oh, mademoiselle, no harm can possibly befall you,”
exclaimed Oonrapied. Eemember there are three of us;
and if there should be a bullet for any one it shall be for
me, for I have no fear of death now. I know you will care
for the little chap.”

I will never desert him, whatever happens,^’ said
Camille: ^^but 1 do not want you to endanger your life,
and you will not endanger it, to-night, for we will content
ourselves with a mere reconnoissance. Besides, if we
should be obliged to defend ourselves, I have a revolver
under my blouse, and I shall not hesitate to make use of
it.”

Brigitte raised her clasped hands to Heaven on hearing
this startling announcement. The worthy woman knew
that Camille was afraid of nothing, but she had not
imagined that her young mistress would ever venture to
handle a loaded pistol.

The little party started off, with the dog at their head,
closely followed by Courapied: and Camille and Georget
brought up the rear.

The great question that interested them all was the
direction the dog would take.

Vigoureux did not hesitate a second, however, but
rushed down the boulevard with an impetuosity that
Courapied found it difficult to restrain.

The rascal knows where he is going,”' murmured
Georget.

1 think so, too,” replied Camille, and his master can
not be far off.”

I am not so sure about that. If Zig-Zag were at Ver-
sailles, Vigoureux would pull just as hard at the rope.
Last year, while we were traveling through Picardy, the
dog was locked up in a stable atEoisel, and forgotten, but
he broke open the door and overtook us the next evening
at Pdronne, more than three leagues away. Sometimes,
Zig-Zag left hini behind on purpose, just to show how
easily the dog could track us. More than once he was
offered two or three hundred francs for the dog, but he

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWX.

would not sell him. He knew that Vigoureux would de-
fend him if any officer should ever attempt to arrest him.’^
Then you think he was afraid of being arrested?’^

Yes, indeed. He never had any papers all the time
he was traveling with us, or if he did, no one ever caught
a glimpse of them. So it is not at all strange that he
shunned the gendarmes. But he is as shrewd as a mon-
key, and always succeeds in getting out of a scrape. Be-
sides,^^ added Georget, lowering his voice, if a police-
man should ever attempt to lay hands on him, Zig-Zag
would only have to whistle for his dog. Amanda has
taught him to leap at anybody’s throat at a signal from
her, though what that signal is no one knows but herself.
Father says that she only has to snap her fingers and look
at tlie man she wants strangled.”

Camille started violently. Her father had died of
strangulation, and the word Georget had just uttered re-
minded her of the frightful scene. She said no more, and
the child dared not continue the conversation.

They were obliged to walk rapidly in order to keep up
with CoLirapied, who was dragged along by the bull-do^
at such a rapid rate that they soon reached the end of the
long boulevard, that is to say, the Place du Chdteau-d’Eau.

There was quite a crowd of men and carriages there,,
but the little party did not attract much attention, for
though two or three loungers turned to look at the big
dog with a box in his mouth, it was too dark for them to-
see the leather strap that served as a muzzle.

Camille and Georget, fearing to lose their leader in the
crowd, quickened their pace, and saw him turn unhesi-
tatingly into the Boulevard Magenta.

This was some indication, for the broad thoroughfare
mentioned leads to Montmartre, or to La Villette, accord-
ing as one turns to the right or to the left, on reaching
the outer boulevards.

The dog’s ardor did not seem to abate in the least. He
tugged harder than ever at the rope, and though he occa-
sionally paused, it was only to growl at Courapied, who
did not walk fast enough to suit liim.

You must be fatigued, mademoiselle,” said Georget,
timidly.

^^No,” replied Camille, I can can walk all night, if
need be. But don’t call me mademoiselle any longer.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK. 67

Give me a man’s name, and don’t fail to use it if any one
speaks to us.”

How will Jacques do?”

As well as any other name, provided you don’t forget
it.”

Oh, there is no danger of that. But I hope no one
will speak to us.”

Because you think they would see that I am a woman?
That is very possible. Still, my disguise must be a pretty
good one, for none of the passers-by have noticed me.”

There were very few pedestrians in the street, however,
for late at night the Boulevard Magenta is well-nigh de-
serted.

On reaching the outer boulevard, Vigoureux turned to
the left, into the street leading to the Place Pigalle, which
is generally crowded until two o’clock in the morning.

The little party continued on their way without any in-
terruption until they reached the small square where Mar-
shal Moncey’s statue stands. On reaching that point,
Vigoureux turned into the Avenue de Clichy, which leads
to the fortifications.

Near the square there are cafes in which the artists of
the neighborhood congregate, and restaurants where the
residents of Batignolles dine in small parties. It is a
noisy but respectable locality, in short.

Further on, the avenue divides, one of the streets lead-
ing to the Porte de Olichy, the other to the Porte Saint-
Ouen. The last passes the cemetery in Montmartre, and
is not very popular on that account.

From the other branch off countless streets and lanes in
which dwell the families of hosts of laborers, and not a
few malefactors. It is not yet dangerous, however, though
one already perceives that its residents have nothing in
common with the well-to-do citizens of the central ar-
rondissemeiits.

Vigoureux chose the least lonely of these streets, to the
great satisfaction of Courapied, who had no desire to pass
through lonely spots in which thieves are not unfrequent-
ly lying in wait for victims; but Courapied’s satisfaction
v/as not unalloyed, for he knew that after passing the
Porte de Clichy, which was not far off, there would be
nothing but a series of vacant lots and squalid hovels.

Vigoureux tugged at the rope more furiously than ever,

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

like ahorse nearing his stable, and Courapied allowed him-
self to be dragged swiftly on.

Camille and Georget followed closely, but though they
occasionally met suspicious-looking characters, and though
loud yells and curses resounded from the drinking-saloons
they were obli£:ed to pass^ Camille heeded them not.

She could think only of her father’s murderer, and her
impatience to reach his place of concealment increased
with every instant. She did not reflect that it would
probably be impossible to gain admission into it, and that
at night she would find it difficult to get a good look at
Zig-Zag and his hands, even if she should be fortunate
enough to see him at "all. She was filled with a deep
thirst for vengeance, and felt firmly convinced that God
would suggest to her a way to accomplish her object when
the critical moment came.

Courapied, after passing the railway station and reach-
ing the Porte de Clichy, paused to take counsel with his
employer.

It was a good place for a conference, for no other human
being was visible, and conspirators might have assembled
there to plot a tyrant’s overthrow with perfect safety.

^^ Mademoiselle,” began Courapied, we must now de-
cide upon our course. Beyond this gate lies one of the
most dangerous parts of the suburbs, and it is there
Vigonreux is leading us, unquestionably. One can vent-
ure upon the Route de E6volte at this hour of the night
only at the risk of one’s life.”

Why? Because it is deserted?” inquired Camille.

Quite the contrary, madamoiselle; because it leads by
lanes and alleys in which the worst scoundrels in the city
spend their nights. If Zig-Zag is concealed in any of
those lanes or alleys, it is not worth while to look for him,
as we should not find him, nor should we succeed in get-
ting away alive.”

Let us go on until the dog stops in front of some
house, and then we will see.”

But what if he should take us to a ciUV^

A ” repeated Mile. Monstrol, who had not the
slightest idea what he meant.

K cite, mademoiselle, is very like an encampment of
savages. It generally consists of hovels planted in the mud,
and separated from each other by mire in which one sinks

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWil.

to one’s ankles. The ground is covered with garbage and
debris, and the police dare not show their faces there.”

But Zig-Zag, who wishes to make an entire change in
his mode of life, you say, would not be likely to take refuge
in a place like that.”

Oh, not for long; but one stays where one can when
one is waiting to step into a new skin. Besides, Amanda
has acquaintances in this neighboi*hood, and has sent me
here more than once, so I am familiar with the entire road
from ISTeuillyto Saint-Denis.”

Then you will be an excellent guide. Besides, what is
the use of stopping to talk when I am determined to see
this through, whatever may happen. Let us go on, you
and I; Georget can wait for us here.”

Ti)e brave little fellow said not a word but walked
straight toward the gate.

Courapied could not do less than follow his son’s ex-
ample, so he dealt out more rope to Vigoureux, whom he
had had no little trouble in restraining during this short
conference, and Camille walked on by his side.

They passed through the gateway, which was guarded
by two men, who scarcely glanced at them, though our
friends would have been subjected to a much more rigid
scrutiny had they been entering, instead of leaving, the
city.

Are not we now upon the dreaded Koute de la Ee-
volte?” inquired Mile. Monistrol, when they had passed the
bar ri ere.

JSTo, mademoiselle,” replied Courapied, amazed at his
companion’s coolness, but we shall soon reach it. It
lies there before us, but this is still the Avenue de
Clichy.”

And these huts on either side of the street?”

They serve as lodgings for the organ-grinders and
Puiich-and-Judy men that parade the streets. There
is no danger that Zig-Zag has taken refuge here. They
have met our troupe again and again, in their rounds, and
Zig-Zag would not run such a risk of being recognized.
Besides, you see that Vigoureux shows no desire to stop.”

The dog was, indeed, hastening on with all his might,
and five minutes afterward the little party found them-
selves at the triangle formed by the intersection of the

70 ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

Avenue de Olichy and the dreaded thoroughfare before
mentioned.

^^Here we are!’’ said Courapied. He spoke in subdued
tones, as if afraid of being overheard, and yet the place
seemed deserted.

There was nothing extraordinary in the appearance of
the broad and dimly lightled road which Mme. Monistrol
saw before her; yet her companion had not exaggerated
the formidable reputation it had acquired by reason of the
many crimes committed there.

Its very, name which was bestowed upon it by reason
of a revolt that occurred there among the French guards,
seems to have predestined it to serve as the scene of frigjit-
ful events.

It begins at the Porte-Maillot, at the very spot where
the Duke of Orleans was killed by being thrown from his
carriage, passes through Neuilly, and enters the city only
to emerge a little further on and skirt the plain of Olichy,
after intersecting the Route d’Asnieres at right angles.

Then it penetrates the very center of Bohemia, passing
first through the rag-pickers’ own particular territory,
where they sleep in the open air, and eat in dens where
their nameless dishes and vitriolic beverages are the only
compounds kept for sale.

Rag-pickers, however, arefoVthe most part honest men,
who work all night, and sleep in the daytime; but on
nearing Olichy, the road passes under a long railroad
bridge, forming a sort of tunnel in which one can waylay
and murder a man with little danger of being disturbed
in the operation.

On the right, lie vacant lots where vagabonds and male-
factors spend their nights; then come dark alleys and
muddy lanes, and then the famous Oity of the Sun,” so
called, doubtless, because the sun’s rays never gain an en-
trance there.

On, on they went, past the Oite Foucault, which Oamille
had never seen before, but which, as she now learned from
her companion, Wcis the property of, and under the im-
mediate charge of, a young woman who wore masculine
attire, and who did not hesitate to collar disorderly ten-
ants, or break open their doors and forcibly eject them
when they persistently declined to pay their rent.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH. 71

Everybocl}" was asleep in the cite, or rather everything^
was quiet there; and this silence was reassuring.

But opposite it, on the other side of the road, stood a
large white building used as an eating and drinking saloon,
as the enormous sign painted by an unknown artist indi-
cated beyond any possibility of doubt. This sign repre-
sents an enormous saucepan, around which stand a priest,
a beadle, an altar boy, and a grave-digger, while in the
distance is a long procession of squirrels, advancing, two
by two, toward the culinary utensil in which they are to
be transformed into a savory stew.

Above this fantastic picture are the words ^^Le Tom-
beau des Lapins,’’ a name which has contributed not a
little to the renown the establishment has acquired.

The Tombeau des Lapins, or the Babbit’s Grave,” is
noted throughout the world, to such an extent, indeed,
that the fashionable Alfred de Fresnay had mentioned it
to the Countess de Lugos as one of the curiosities of Paris^

All the residents of the neighborhood seemed to have
congregated in the lower story, w-hich was brilliantly
lighted both within and without. The sound of shouting,
quarreling and singing could be distinctly heard, and the
company must have been very large, judging from the
uproar.

Mademoiselle Monistrol saw very plainly that her com-
panion was by no means tranquil in mind concerning the
result of this expedition, but she felt sure that he would
not desert her, and it was now too late to discuss the
chances of the venture.

So they followed Vigoureux, who seemed to become
more and more eager as he approached his journey’s end,
and passed several other streets dimly lighted by a few oil
lamps.

A little further on were occasional hovels, some built of
rough boards, others of brick and stone stolen from demol-
ished houses — huts of the most primitive kind though
built by civilized men, for two or three of them were com-
posed almost entirely of old sardine boxes filled with
earth and cemented together with plaster.

They did not appear to be occupied, however, for not
the smallest ray of light was visible.

Still the dog dragged Courapied on. though a wide
stretch of sterile fields was all that seemed to lie beyond.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWi^-.

Can it be be is going to take ns to Saint-Denis?’’ mut-
tered Courapied. We could not get there much before
morning.”

Suddenly, Vigoureux made a quick spring to the left,
a spring so violent that he nearly broke the rope, and after
the spring, a sudden turn that pulled Courapied out of
the road which, at this point, is on a level with the fields
which it traverses, and which are separated from it only
by a ditch, not much deeper than the furrow made by a
plowshare. Courapied, dragged on by the dog, crossed
this ditch almost without perceiving it, and found him-
self in a rough and stony field.

Camille and Georget hastily followed him, and here
they were again obliged to hold a conference in spite of
the frantic struggles of Vigoureux, who nearly pulled poor
Courapied’s hands oft.

It was necessary, first of all, to ascertain where they
were, and this was no easy matter on a moonless night.
To tlie right, on the other side of the road, Montmartre
loomed up in the distance, while behind our little party
hundreds of tiny lights could be seen twinkling in the
darkness, some motionless, and only a little way off ap-
parently, others fiitting about in the distance like so many
will-o’-the-wisps.

Those first lights are the street lamps in the Cit6 Fou-
cault,” remarked Courapied, ‘‘and those further on are
the lanterns of the rag-pickers, who are just starting out
on their rounds.”

But — in front of us?” inquired Mile. Monistrol.

“ In front of us lies the Plaine Saint-Denis, and unless
Zig-Zag has taken refuge in a stone-quarry, I don’t see
where the brute can be taking us.”

“ Father,” said Georget, it seems to me I see a house
to the right, a little way ahead of us.”

“ You must have good eyes. I don’t see anything.”

I see something,” said Camille, but 1 can’t tell
whether it is a house or only a small knoll. At all events,
it is there that the dog wants to go, so do not attempt to
prevent him from doing so.”

“ I’m sure nothing would please me better, fori can’t
hold him much longer: the rope has nearly cut my fingers
off. But if we follow him, heaven only knows where he
will take us! If we were only sure that there was a house,

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWil. 78

it wouldn’t make so much difference, but tb^e fields are
full of holes, and — ”

The dog has much too good eyesight to fall in th^m,
so he will enable us to avoid them. We shall only have
to follow him in single file.”

Courapied submitted, though not with very good grace.

About a hundred yards from their last stopping-place,
they came to a large pile of stones which they had not
seen before, but which was sufficiently high to shelter
them from observation.

It was really a house that stood a short distance ahead
of them, but it was a most dilapidated house. The roof
had partially fallen in, and of the two chimneys which had
formerly surmounted it, but one remained. The other
in its fall had strewn the surrounding ground with frag-
ments of brick and morter. Nevertheless, there were still
shutters to the windows, and the walls seemed sound.
Perhaps they only inclosed a vacant space, however, for
no fence of any kind protected the remains of a once cozy
villa.

What had destroyed it? Certainly not a fire, for the
house was of red brick, which still retained their original
color. Nor could it have been an enemy’s cannon, for
there had been no fighting here during the seige.

Courapied cared very little about knowing, however.
He only wanted to ascertain if his wife and that odious
Zig-Zag had taken refuge within its walls. He did not
think so, though Vigoureux persisted in taking him there,
in spite of his resistance.

‘‘ Well, what are you waiting for?” inquired Mile.
Monistrol.

“lam not waiting for anything,” replied Courapied.
“ I think there is nothing left for us to do but to turn
back, for it would be folly for us to try to enter the house
at night. I’ve no objection to trying it in the daytime —

“ By to-morrow the wretch may have fled. Besides,
there is nothing to prove that he is there now. I am go-
ing to satisfy myself on that point, however,” said Camille,
leaving the pile of stones that sheltered her, and walking
resolutely toward the house.

Georget sprung forward and passed her in the twinkling
of an eye, and Courapied, ashamed to hesitate under such

74 ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWil.

circumstances, yielded to the efforts of Vigoureiix to drag
him on.

They were only about thirty 3^ards from the mysterious
dwelling when they again paused, asif by mutual consent,
for even Camille realized the necessity of examining the
house before going any further.

There could no longer be the shadow of a doubt that
Zig-Zag was there, for the dog was standing on his hind
legs, making the most frantic efforts to break the rope
that bound him. ' He also tried to bark, and as the strap
that served as a muzzle had become slightly loosened, he
succeeded m uttering growls which could be heard quite a
distance. But where was the wretch hiding? Behind
those walls, or in a cave dug beneath the ruins?

There was an opening in the front wall of the house,
the entrance to a gloomy hall, the outer door of which had
disappeared; but the prospect was not inviting.

Let us walk around the house,’’ whispered Courapied.

We shall find a better place, perhaps.”

There’s a light, father,” said Georget, pointing to one
of the windows.

Camille looked, and saw a slender thread of light
shining through the imperfectly fitting shutters. Conse-
quently it must be in an habitable room that Zig-Zag had
installed himself. She had found him, and there was now
nothing to prevent her from compelling him to show him-
self. She could see his face and his hands distinctly if he
came to the window of the lighted room, and after that,
she would rush up, pistol in hand, and oblige him to
allow himself to be bound by Courapied and Georget.

All this was extravagant and absurd, but Camille had
lost the power to reason calmly.

Without hesitation, and without even warning Coura-
pied, she drew her revolver from her pocket, cocked it,
picked up a handful of pebbles, and threw them against
the shutter.

The light within was instantly extinguished, and
Camille then realized for the first time that there was not
a particle of common sense in her plan; for, even admit-
ting that Zig-Zag did come to the window instead of
making good his escape, she would not be able to sec his
hands in the dark.

Let us run, mademoiselle,” said Courapied; there

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

75-

may be a number of them here; and, in that case, they
will certainly kill us. I shall not be able to defend you,
for I must hold Yigoureux, and I shall have to let him
go, I fear.”

I would rather die here than flee at the moment of
finding my father’s murderer.”

Just then one of the shutters was opened softly.

Who is there?” asked a woman’s voice.

Mademoiselle Monistrol was overwhelmed with aston-
ishment. She was looking for Zig-Zag, and she had drawn
a woman to the window.

And yet Vigoureux leaped about so frantically that he
must have recognized the voice of the speaker.

Courapied, too, had recognized it, for he exclaimed:

That is Amanda!”

Unfortunately, he spoke loud enough to be heard in the
house, and the effect of the imprudent exclamation was
almost instantaneous.

Both shutters were thrown wide open, and a white-
robed figure appeared.

Camille and her auxiliaries remained grouped under
the window beneath which the apparition stood, the night
being sufficiently dark to conceal them effectually,

^‘Ah, wretch,” exclaimed Courapied, overcome with
anger, ^^so I have found you at last! You shall pay
dearly for the way you have treated me!”

What, idiot, is it you?” was the insolent retort.

What has brought you here?”
came in search of you, hussy.”

^^In search of me! Well, that is good! Do. you think
I am going to run about again from fair to fair with you?
I have had enough of your company, so you can go along
about your business.”

shall do nothing of the kind. I’ve found you now,
and you won’t get away from me so easily.”

‘^Come and take me then. The door is open.”

Yes, and Zig-Zag is lying in wait for me in the pas-
sage.”

‘‘ You are very much mistaken. I am alone, and you
are a coward if you are afraid to venture in. I am only a
woman, but I wouldn’t be such a chicken-hearted creature
as you are for the world.”

You lie! Zig-Zag is with you.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

is not. He ran away at the same time I did, be-
cause the manager wouldn’t pay us our dues. But he is
not hanging about Paris. He secured an engagement in
London, and went there several days ago.”

It is false. But even if it were true, he would be ar-
rested and brought back here to be guillotined.”

On account of that affair on the Boulevard Voltaire?
l^onsense! The judge released him, wdiich is proof
enough that they had no evidence against him. But you
seem to belong to the police now. How much have they
promised you for hunting down your former comrade? A
nice business you are in! Still, if you were sharp, you
might earn a living by it; but you are too stupid. Who
did you bring with you, some officers?”

No, but I am going for some. There is a station-
house not far from here.”

Yes, go; I will wait for them. There are three of
you, so two can stand guard here while you do your
errand. Who are your companions? There is one tall
and one short one. I wouldn’t be afraid to bet that the
small one is that little toad, Georget.”

The child was strongly tempted to reply in the affirm-
ative, but his father hastily placed his hand over his mouth.

Camille fairly trembled with impatience as she listened
to this strange dialogue, for she felt almost certain that
Zig-Zag was there, and longed to devise some means of
compelling him to show himself.

Yes,” continued Amanda, ‘^1 am sure it is that little
imp of a Georget. So he, too, is trying to make trouble
for me? All right! I’ll pay him for it. But where did
you pick up your other friend, the one in a white blouse?
is he some one who has been enticed into the troupe to
take Zig-Zag’s place?”

As she uttered these concluding words, she cautiously
retired from the window, and Courapied fancied she was
preparing to make her escape from the other side of tlie
house. He was mistaken, however, for after disappearing
for a moment, Amanda suddenly reappeared, and threw
out an object that described a luminous curve, like a
shooting star, and then falling almost at Camille’s feet,
suddenly blazed up, and diffused a blinding light around.

It was one of those Bengal lights with which sojourners

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH. 77

at Xormaii watering-places often amuse themselves by
illuminating the beach.

Mile. Monistrol, surprised and dazzled, recoiled, dis-
closing to view her full face, which was only partially
concealed by her cap.

Oh, I see!” sneered Amanda’s shrill voice. It is the
princess I turned out of the show the other night on the
Place du Trdiie. You must be in her employ now, as you
have brought her here. She is hunting after Zig-Zag,
because she thinks that Zig-Zag killed her father. Fy!
mademoiselle, I would not play the detective if I were
you! This is not the Boulevard Voltaire, and upon my
word! I have a great mind to punish you as you deserve.”

But Camille did not even hear these threats. By the
glare of the Bengal light she had dimly distinguished a
man’s form at the further end of the room, and this vision,
though seen but for an instant, engrossed her every
thought.

And so you have stolen Vigoureux, you old scoun-
drel!” continued Amanda. I understand now how you
found your way here. I sent him for my box of jewelry,
wdiich 1 forgot, and you must have caught him on the
sly, for if you had attacked him openly, he would have
devoured you. You had better release him, and instantly.
If you don’t you will be sorry for it.”

Courapied did not obey the order, but he was greatly in
doubt as to what course he ought to pursue. He did not
care to follow Vigoureux into this ruined house, which
looked very much like the den of a band of cut-throats;
but to set the dog at liberty was to lose the entire fruit of
a long and arduous expedition, while to beat a retreat with
the terrible beast was an utter impossibility, as it would
be necessary to drag him away by main force, and Cour-
apied was nearly exhausted. Besides, the enemy would
hardly fail to come to the dog’s rescue.

The poor clown looked inquiringly at Camille, but the
Bengal light suddenly went out, and their eyes did not
meet.

So you won’t release him!” cried Zig-Zag’s accomplice.

Ah, well, we will see!” And a sharp whistle broke the
silence of the night.

Vigoureux, who recognized the signal, gave such a

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

furious bound that he dragged Courapied to the entrance
of the dark passage in spite of his struggles.

‘‘ Help, George t!” cried the unfortunate husband.

Georget ran and seized the ro2)e with both hands, but
the dog gave it a final jerk that severed it just as the fa-
ther and son disappeared in the passage.

Camille heard two cries of distress, a hollow thud^
then — nothing.

The first impulse is always the best one, some people
claim, and Mile. Monistrol rushed forward to the assist-
ance of her friends. The doorway was not far off. She
reached it with three bounds, and was about to cross it
and fall into the same trap into which Courapied and
Georget had fallen; but she stumbled just as she reached
the threshold, and so paused, for an instant, to regain her
equilibrium. That slight accident saved her life. A
strong whiff of cool damp air met her nostrils, and her
eyes, which had now become accustomed to the darkness,
perceived a deep, yawning gulf instead of the fioor she
had expected to see.

Now she understood. The father and son, dragged
along by Vigoureux, had found beneath their feet only a
void, and they had both fallen into the open trap, while
the terrible animal, aware of the existence of the treacher-
ous chasm, had cleared it at a bound, and gone to rejoin
his owner, concealed in the house.

Camille feared that her unfortunate aids must have
been killed in their fall, for they made no outcry, and
though Camille listened attentively, she heard no call for
help, nor even a moan. And this frightful death had been
planned for them by Amanda, who had hoped to make
away with Mile. Monistrol at the same time.

All tills flashed through Camille’s mind in a second of
time, but to come to a realizing sense of the situation was
not such an important thing after all. The vital necessity
was to decide upon her course, and to decide at once, for
the vile creature who had just freed herself of her un-
fortunate husband by means of a crime, certainly would
not be content with that. The opportunity to destroy
all Zig-Zag’s enemies at one fell swoop would prove too
tempting.

But in spite of her danger, the poor girl remained lean-

ZIG-ZAO, THE CLO^y'^^, 79

ing over the black abyss which had ingulfed her allies,^
nn willing to abandon them.

She called Georget several times, but receiving no reply,
she decided that an attempt to rescue them would not
only be futile, but would probably cost her her life. Hence,
it would be much better to go in search of assistance, and
she had not a moment to lose if she would escape the peril
that threatened her.

The imprudent expedition upon which Camille had
embarked had cost her friends dear, and there was now no
other way to repair the injury she had done them than to
hasten to the nearest police station and summon the offi-
cers to the aid of Amanda’s victims.

Just as she had made up her mind to do this, she
heard two persons talking in the interior of the house.
Amanda’s voice, which she instantly recognized, and a
deeper voice. Camille could not distinguish a word at
first, but as the dialogue progressed, the key in which it
was carried on became higher and higher, as is usually
the case when people are quarreling, and Mile. Monistrol
soon gained a pretty clear idea of the tenor of the con-
versation.

It was evident that one of the wretches wanted to kill
her, then and there, and that the other was inclined to
let her make her escape.

Naturally the young girl did not await the conclusion
of the discussion, but fled, not pausing, indeed, until she
reached the pile of stones, where she turned to make sure
that she was not pursued.

She saw no one, but the night was so dark that she
could not see far, but she heard the dog bark distinctly.
His owners had evidently unmuzzled him, and he was ex-
pressing his delight. The sound came from the house,
but Camille, only partially reassured, again started off at
the top of her speed toward the Route de la Revolte.

It seemed to her that she would be safer there than in
this lonely field, besides she fancied that the road must
lead to one of the city gates.

In less than five minutes she found herself upon the
macadamized road, where she paused to take breath, and
also to decide ujDon the direction she should take.

Camille knew she would reach the Porte de Clichy if
she returned by the same road she had just traversed with

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

Courapied, but she would be obliged to pass the Tombeau
des Lapins, when all the disorderly people of the neigli-
borhood seemed to have assembled that evening; besides
the army of rag-pickers was just starting out. The
countless lights of their lanterns were still visible in the
distance, and Camille was anxious to avoid them, in
which she made a great mistake^ however, for rag-pickers,
in general, are honest fellows, and their company would
probably have saved her from any more unforcunate en-
counter.

She finally started in the opposite direction, without
reflecting that this would take her further and further
from the fortifications, though she should have remem-
bered that poor Courapied had said: ‘^This vile beast
will finally take us to Saint-Denis, I do believe.’’

So she hastened on at a rapid pace, taking care to walk
in the middle of the road; and she walked on in this way
for fully a quarter of an hour, with the pistol in her hand,
before it occurred to her that she might have turned her
back upon the city she was seeking.

She paused, but just as she did so, two forms suddenly
arose out of a slight hollow on the side of the road.
Mile. Monistrol, engaged in seeking her way, failed
to notice the fact, and after a moment’s hesitation,
again walked on, though much more slowly. She had not
gone far, however, when a slight sound made her start.
It seemed to her that she heard footsteps behind her, and
she turned to confront the persons who were following her.

She had not time to assume the defensive, however, for
two men instantly sprung upon her, one seizing her by
the throat, and the other around the body, and she heard
these words:

^^Hold him fast, while I go through his pockets.”

As she struggled with her assailants, Camille almost
mechanically pressed the trigger of her revolver, but the
bullet was wasted in empty air.

*^^80 the rascal means mischief!” exclaimed one of the
thieves. ‘‘ Wait a minute until I deprive him of his play-
thing.”

As he spoke, he struck the pistol a vigorous blow with
a stick he held in his hand, and the weapon flew out of
the poor girl’s grasp.

Camille uttered a cry, but only one. The iron hand

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

tig^htened it’s hold upon her throat, until she thought she
was about to die, like her father, of strangulation. The
idea that one of her assailants was Zig-Zag flashed across
her mind, but she soon perceived that all these men wanted
was her money, for though she had relapsed into a state
of partial insensibility, she still retained sufficient con-
sciousness to hear one of the thieves remark, as he searched
her pockets:

We have made a good haul this time. Here’s a hand-
ful of gold in one pocket, and a watch in another. A
droll apprentice this fellow is. His hands are as soft as
a girl’s.”

Why, it is a girl!” he added, suddenly. For the cap
Camille wore had just fallen off, and her hair, becoming
unfastened, tumbled down about her shoulders.

A girl?”

Yes, and not a bad looking one, either.”

Hurry up, then; and as soon as we’ve divided the
plunder, let’s take her to the hut that Father Alexandre
built out of broken pots, and that has been vacant ever
since he was sent to jail.”

Camille, who had now regained her senses, guessed the
terrible fate that they were reserving for her. She was
resolved not to submit to it, but her only means of es-
caping it was to compel them to kill her.

Her hands were now free, and she suddenly made use
of them to jerk out the handkerchief which had been
stuff'ed into her mouth, and before the wretches had time
to silence her, she cried out at the top of her voice:

Help, help! Murder!”

She did not expect any one would come to her assist-
ance. She only hoped her assailants would kill her to
silence her.

And one of them did exclaim, savagely, as he again
seized her by the throat:

If you keep on howling like that. I’ll beat your brains
out.”

One of the thieves took her by the shoulders, the other
took her by the feet, and they had already carried her
across the ditch on the side of the road, when the one at
her head remarked to his companion:

Wait a minute. It seems to me I hear somebody
coming up on the run,”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

Oh, it’s only some rag-picker starting out on his
round, and running because he is late. You know the
police always walk slowly in going their rounds.”

Camille had also heard the hurried footsteps, and won-
dered whether they were those of a preserver or of an
enemy.

Fortunately, this question was soon answered.

The two scoundrels released her. She fell to the
ground, and while she was trying to rise, a man, of whom
she caught but a glimpse, attacked her assailants, vigor-
ously plying a stout cane that he held in his hand.

He used it to such good purpose that both the scoun-
drels recoiled. The one with the stick attempted to
defend himself, but a heavy blow disarmed him, and this
blov/ was followed by a shower of impartially distributed
ones. The scoundrel who had rifled Camille’s pockets ,
received a severe cut across the face, and fled, howling
with pain; the other, struck upon the head, lost no time
in following his companion.

The stranger who had so opportunely appeared was left
master of the field. A few seconds had sufiSced for the
dispersal of the cowardly rascals, and the victor scorned to
give chase. He knew that they would not repeat the at-
tack, and he saw that their victim was in great need of
succor, so he approached to offer a helping hand.

Ah, well, my lad,” he said, cheerfully, there is no
great harm done, I hope. Still, it was a fortunate thing
that the idea of returning to Paris by this road occurred
to me. But what the devil are you doing here, at this
hour of the night? If you came to spend your earnings
at the saloons it’s a great pity, for those rascals must have
robbed you of your money, and I am surprised that they
did not murder you into the bargain. You must have
been frightened nearly to death. Lean on mo; you don’t
seem able to stand.’’

Oh, sir, you have saved my life,” faltered Camille.

The feminine timbre of the voice that thanked him
evidently astonished the stranger, for he recoiled a step
or two, and gazed searchingly at this ai^prentice who
spoke so much like a young lady; then, seeing the long v
tresses that fell in disorder upon the blouse, his tone and
manner underwent a sudden change.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

‘^Excuse me, madame,’’ said he; had no idea that
this costume sheltered —

A young lady/’ Mile. Monistrol concluded for him.

I will explain why I assumed this disguise; but first of
all, let me entreat you, sir, to assist me in succoring some
friends/’

Some friends! You are not alone then?”

No, I came here in company with a man and child.”

Well, what has become of them?”

A trap was set for them. They fell into it, and I
fear they have not survived their fall.”

^MVhat! here on this plain?” asked the stranger, with
an incredulous smile.

No, in a tumble-down house, near by.”

Old and tumble-down, but probably inhabited, as you
say the trap was set for your friends.”

Yes, by wretches I was seeking in the hope of being
able to deliver them up to justice — a murderer and his ac-
complice.”

Her preserver evinced no surprise, though he probably
thought Camille was mad.

How did it happen that you were spared?” he en-
quired, with mingled pity and interest.

Because I fled. I could do nothing to aid them, and
I wished to live to avenge them.”

^‘And the wretches pursued you to this place?”

^^No, sir, the scoundrels from whom you just delivered
me were thieves who attacked me as they w^ould have at-
tacked any other passer-by.”

But do you know anything about the persons in the
house you speak of?”

One of them killed my father.”

In that case ypu should have chosen members of the
police force for your companions,” remarked the gentle-
tlemen, coldly.

had. reasons which I will explain for dispensing with
their assistance. But, in Heaven’s name, don’t let us
waste any more time here. Two unfortunate fellow-beings
have sacrificed themselves for my sake, and if I should
abandon them I could never forgive myself.”

Pardon me, mademoiselle, but you just told me that
they must have been killed; so you will only imperil your
life uselessly by returning to the scene of the catastrophe.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

It is not very likely that the guilty parties have left the
place, and we two would prove no match for them, I fear.
I, for my part, do not feel like risking it, though I am no
coward, as I think I have proved to you.”

Certainly, I hardly know how to express my grati-
tude. But must I leave my defenders at the mercy of
those wretches?”

The first thing to be done is to take you to a place of
safety, and you will not be safe until you are back in Paris.
If we remain here, we shall certainly be attacked, and
next time I may not be as fortunate in my opponents.”

Of course, I should be unwilling to expose you to
further danger,” said Mile. Monistrol, quickly.

^‘'Then you must permit me to escort you home, and
to-morrow, with your permission, I will divulge the facts
to the chief of police.”

No, that would do no good,” murmured Camille, who
had felt but little confidence in the intelligence and good-
will of the detective service since the release of Zig-Zag.

Would you prefer that I should act upon my own re-
sponsibility?” asked the obliging stranger. ^^I am en-
tirely at your service. That which would be wholly im-
practicable to-night I would willingly attempt by daylight,
and I assure you that yon shall soon receive information,
not only concerning the fate of your friends, but in re-
gard to the movements of your enemies. Take my arm,
mademoiselle, and let us get away from here as soon as
possible, I beg.”

Just then the distant barking of a dog made Camille
tremble.

That terrible dog!” she murmured. They have set
him on my track. He might spring upon us and tear us
into pieces. Let us go at once.”

She took the proffered arm of her protector, who seemed
more anxious to leave the place than she was. He led her
in the same direction she was going when the robbers at-
tacked her; but after proceeding a short distance, he
turned into a cross-road that took them straight to the
Porte de Saint-Ouen.

'V igoureux had ceased to bark, or at least they no long-
er heard him. Mile. Monistrol was gradually regaining
her composure, and, though she could not entirely over-
come her remorse in thinking of her friends, she began to

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWil.

bestow more attention upon this brave defender whom a
kind Providence had sent to her relief.

The night was too dark for her to be able to distinguish
his features, and it was not until they had reached the
barriere that the gas-light enabled her to distinctly see
tlie man to whom she was indebted for her preservation.

They had walked rapidly, without exchanging a word,
and Camille was grateful to her new friend for his consid-
eration and reserve.

The street-lamps became much more numerous as they
neared the Porte de Saint-Ouen, and Camille could see
that her preserver was tall, slender, and extremely elegant
in appearance. She saw, too, that he was dressed like a
fashionable gentleman, in a well-fitting overcoat, tall hat,
and kid gloves. The cane he had used with such telling
effect was a stick of medium size, surmounted by a heavi-
ly wrought silver head. Nor would one have supposed
that this handsomely dressed gentleman had just been
engaged in such a lively conflict. His toilet was intact,
even to the buttons on his gloves.

But what could this gentleman, who seemed to belong
to the aristocracy, be doing on the Plaine Saint-Denis at
this hour of the night?

As Mile. Monistrol asked herself this question again and
again, it occurred to her that this mutiny had perhaps
been planned by this carefully attired gentleman. But
what could have been his object? Besides, her champion
could not have known that she was there, and he certain-
ly had no acquaintance with the acrobat or tight-rope
dancer who had just disposed of poor Georget and Coura-
pied so summarily.

Camille might almost have believed that the stranger
could read her thoughts, for when but a few steps from
the barriere he broke the silence by saying:

You must be surprised to meet me on the Koute de la
Revolte at such an unheard-of hour, mademoiselle. Pray
donT think that T choose that notorious street for my daily
promenade. I dined this evening with some old friends
of mine who have a villa near Saint-Ouen, and instead of
driving back to Paris, the fancy seized me to take a stroll
through this locality, which furnishes so many exciting
items for the daily press. I was actuated, probably, by a
vague hope of m'eeting with some adventure; and I con-

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWJST.

gratiilate myself upon the very agreeable one that has be-
fallen me. But remernber/Mie added, gayly, ^Hhat I
have reason to be equally surprised to find you roaming
about in a place where young ladies rarely venture.’’

I have already told you what took me there,” mur-
mured Mile. Monistrol, considerably embarrassed.

Oh, I do not presume to ask for any further explana-
tion. But will you allow me to tell you who I am? My
name is George de Menestreau. I am thirty years old, the
jDossessor of some property, and the last of my race. I have
traveled a good deal in the East, and I returned to Paris
about a week ago with the intention of taking up my per-
manent abode here; I think I have wandered about the
world enough, and would like to settle down. But iny
private history will not interest you much, I fear; so I
will not dwell any longer upon that theme. We are
now in Paris,” he added, in the most courteous pos-
sible tone, ‘‘ and I am entirely at your service. Shall
T escort you to your home, or would you prefer to
return to it without me. In that case, I will accompany
you only as far as the nearest carriage-stand. But, now
I think of it, the scoundrels who assaulted you perhaps
robbed you of all the money you had about you?”

They took my money and my watch,” replied Camille,
but that doesn’t matter, I can pay the coachman when
I reach home.”

As she spoke, she took another furtive look at the
stranger, and perceived, with no little satisfaction,
that he had a handsome and genial face. He was very
dark-complexioned: his eyes were clear and bright, his
smiling lips were adorned with a silky black mustache,
and he did not look as old as he claimed to be.

Mile. Monistrol was a woman, and consequently the idea
of being saved by a handsome and distinguished-looking
young man was much more agreeable than that of being
under obligations to an unprepossessing rustic.

Just then a belated vehicle, which was returning to
Paris after a suburban trip, came in sight, but Camille
could not thus part forever from a man who had risked
his life to save her, and she said to him:

prefer to return home alone, sir, but I hope to see
you again to-morrow. I reside at No. 292 Boulevard

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWI^. 87

Voltaire. Camille Monistrol is my name; and if you do
not object to going such a long distance — ’’

Yon need have no fears of that/^ replied the young
man, quickly, “ But it seems to me that your name is
familiar to me.”

You have probably seen it in the papers in connection
with my father’s murder.”

What! Can it be that you are — ?”

The daughter of Jean Monistrol, who was killed be-
fore my very eyes, and whom I have sworn to avenge!”

Oh, I understand now why I found you on that lonely
plain. You were seeking your father’s murderer and he es-
caped you by committing another crime. I will take the
place of the friends who perished in assisting you, and
the scoundrels will not get rid of me so easily. Say the
word, mademoiselle, and J will start out in pursuit of
them to-morrow. I can find the house, if you will kindly
describe it to me; I will force my way into it, and — ”

It is built of red brick — but — stop, coachman!”

^^All right!” replied the driver, checking his horse.
^^To what part of the city do you wish to go?”

To the Place du Tr6ne.”

That suits me. I am on my way back to the Avenue
Parmentier. Get in.”

‘‘Good-bye, then, until to-morrow,” said Camille, with
an emotion which she could not wholly conceal.

M. de Menestreau bowed over her proffered hand re-
spectfully, assisted her into the carriage, and gave the
coachman the exact address.

Mile. Monistrol seemed likely to have a much more
valuable ally than Julien Gemozac in the person of this
gentleman, and certainly one that pleased her better.

CHAPTER V.

Oh losing sight of the Countess de Lugos at the Cafe des
Ambassadeurs, Alfred de Fresnay feigned an indifference
he did not feel, for in his secret heart he was not a little
annoyed to find that he would be obliged to wait until the
next day to see the chestnut- haired beauty again. Never-
theless, when Julien announced* that he was not sleepy,
and that he intended to return to the club, no urging was

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWiq'.

required to induce his friend to accompany him, for
Fresnay felt sure that luck would continue to smile upon
him, and that he would be sure to win several hundred
shining louis before morning.

The contrary liapperied, however, as is not unfrequently
the case.

Julien met with a most remarkable run of luck, while
the presumptuous Alfred lost heavily and continuously.

About two o^clock in the morning, finding his pockets
entirely empty, he borrowed ten louis from Gemozac, and
went quietly ofi to the Peters Eestaurant to console him-
self.

As he looked about the crowded room in search of a
seat, he noticed, seated alone at a table in a most quiet
corner of the restaurant, a rather peculiar-looking young
woman, who was modestly supping upon a slice of ham
and a half bottle of claret, though one instinctively felt
that she would greatly prefer truffles and champagne.

Tliere was one vacant seat beside her, and Fresnay lost
no time in taking possession of it.

The young woman was not pretty, nor was she taste-
fully dressed, but there was an air of piquancy about her
that savored strongly of Bohemia, and that could not fail
to excite the curiosity of a Uase man of the world in quest
of new adventures.

He resorted to no circumlocution in beginning the con-
versation.

‘^That is not a particularly savory morsel,” he re-
marked, glancing at tlie ham, and what you are drinking
can not be much better.”

^^That is very possible; still, I do not see that it is any
business of yours,” was the snappish response. Did you
sit down here to make fun of my supper?”

•'^No, my dark-eyed angel, but to offer you a better
one.”

^^Then you can remain.”

On condition that you will order it, however.”

With pleasure. A roast chicken, a salad, strawber-
ries, and some Burgundy. Champagne does not agree
with me.”

Fresnay called the waiter and repeated the order. A
single glance around the room showed him that the other
guests were enjoying themselves hugely at his expense; so

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWI^.

he instantly resolved to get even with them by pretending
to treat his companion with the most profound respect.

‘‘Pardon me, my dear madame, for speaking to you so
familiarly, he said, in the same tone he would have used
in addressing a lady of the highest rank. “You must
think me very impertinent.”

“No, I think you very odd,” replied the brunette,
without the slightest embarrassment; “and I like eccen-
tric people.”

“I have never seen you here before, and I am an
habitue of the place,” remarked Fresnay, “so this is
probably the 6rst time you ever set foot in it.”

“Yes, and it will probably be the last. I arrived in
Paris this evening, terribly hungry, and so dropped into
the first restaurant I came to. But to-morrow all my fun
will be over, as I must go to work again to earn my living,”

“In what way?” inquired Fresnay.

“ You seem to be very inquisitive.”

“No, I am interested in you, that is all. Have you a
lucrative profession?”

“ I am a clairvoyant.”

“Oh, yes, T understand. You mean that you are a
fortune-teller.”

“ Yes, I can tell fortunes with cards if any one wishes
me to; but my specialtyis to foretell future events, relate
what has happened in the past, and find mi.ssing arti-
cles.”

“ How fortunate! I have always wanted to know how
I should turn out, and if you can tell me — ”

“ That is no difficult matter. You will come to some
bad end. But I do not give consultations in a restau-
rant.”

“Then give me your address.”

“Impossible. I have none just at present.”

“ But you will at least tell me your name?”

“ My name is Olga.”

“Olga! 'I'hat is a very pretty name; but Olga what?”

“ Must I show you my papers — my certificate of birth
and of marriage?”

“ You are married, then?”

“What difference can that possibly make to you? This
roast fowl is tender, but there are not enough truffles.
Why don’t you eat some of it?”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

don’t like white meats.”

dark-complexioned wom.en, eh?”

^^On the contrary, I adore them.”

^^Oh, pray don’t try to make me believe that you have
fallen in love with me. I assure you that I am not suf-
ficiently verdant to swallow that. But tell me, you are
rich, are you not?”

My wealth is beyond computation; but this evening
I haven’t a penny, unfortunately.”

certainly hope you have enough to pay for the sup-
per,” said Olga, quickly.

^^For what do you take me? I have enough, and more
than enough, money in my pocket to settle the bill. Be-
sides, I am well known here, and they would trust me, if
I wished them to.”

Olga again turned her attention to her supper, though
not with a very tranquil mind, for it was evident that she
feared she had fallen in with a practical joker, who was
likely to leave her with the bill to pay, and this bill
threatened to be no paltry one, for just then the waiter,
who knew the baron’s tastes, placed upon the table a lob-
ster, a large dish of pate de foie gras, and a bottle of
champagne.

The baron, as he did ample justice to this tempting
menu, furtively watched his guest, who was beginning to
amuse him very much.

see that you either can not, or will not, give me
your address,” he said suddenly; but there is nothing to
prevent me from giving you mine.”

^‘1 am sure I have no objections,” tranquilly responded
Olga, as she drained her glass.

Alfred drew one of his visiting cards from his pocket
and laid it on the table in front of his neighbor who, as
she glanced at it, exclaimed:

What! you are a baron! How charming! I like aris-
tocratic people, I do; and I flatter myself that they usual-
ly take to me. I have told the fortunes of more than one
countess and marquise, I can tell you.”

will bring another to see you some day, if you like,
and you can charge her whatever you please. I will pay
the bill,” said Fresnay, thinking of the chestnut-haired
Hungarian. Keep my card, and let me know when
you will be ready to receive us.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWII.

Oh, I see, you want me to speak a good word for you.
Well, yon seem to be a very nice sort of a gentleman, so
I don’t mind doing you a good turn, especially as you have
treated me so handsomely this evening.”

Then I may hope to see you again?”

Yes, only I trust that you will not tell any one that
I took supper here with you this evening. It might in-
jure my business.”

‘MYhorn the deuce do you think I am likely to make
my confidante in this matter?”

^^Why the lady your are going to bring to see me. If
she knew I had supped here with you, she might place no
faith in my predictions.”

You need not have the slightest fears of that. I shall
be as silent as the grave. But tell me something about
yourself. You have not always been a clairvoyant, I pre-
sume.”

'No, though I have been following the profession for
some time. I haven’t made my fortune at it, yet, alas!
A rolling stone gathers no moss you know, and I have
roamed about the world a good deal.”

^MVealth will come in time, never fear. But as you
don’t like champagne, what do you say to a second bottle
of Musigny. The first is empty, I see.”

Do you want to get me intoxicated? No, don’t think
of ordering any more. The supper will cost you enough
as it is. I wish you would tell me what time it is, in-
stead.”

Nearly four o’clock,” replied Fresnay, glancing at his
"watch.

^‘Four o’clock!” repeated his companion, ^^Good
heavens! I shall not get there in time,”

As she spoke, Olga threw her napkin upon the table
and prepared to rise.

What can possess you?” expostulated Fresnay. You
haven’t finished your salad yet, and the waiter has just
gone to get the strawberries.”

That makes no difference. I can not wait for him.”

‘^But where are you going in such haste?”

^^To the Western Kailway Station, if you must know.”

Won’t you allow me to accompany you to the de-
pot?”.

By no means. There are plenty of carriages at the

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN,

door of the restaurant, and I am not afraid to take the
drive alone. Finish your supper in peace, my friend,
and you shall soon hear from me — if you keep your prom-
ise.’’*'

Olga had already risen to her feet, and Alfred was
obliged to yield to her will. She favored him with an en-
ergetic shake of the hand, and then left the room with a
deliberate step and all the dignity of a tragedy queen.

Fresnay, not knowing what to think of this strange
creature, beckoned to the head waiter, in the hope of ob-
taining some information from him,

‘‘I will settle both bills,” he said. ‘^Do you know
that lady?”

No, sir; I never saw her before, and I feel quite sure
that this is the first time she has ever been here.”

Had she been here long when I came in?”

Nearly an hour. The proprietor \^as unwilling to
serve her, on account of her peculiar dress and appear-
ance, but I suggested to him that she was probably a for-
eigner. ”

She speaks French too well for that. Bring me some
coffee and a glass of brandy.”

His late adventure interested him, from the fact that it
was not in the least commonplace. One does not meet
clairvoyants every day at the Cafe AmSricain. Where
did this one come from, and why did she rush away be-
fore four o’clock, like Cinderella, at the first stroke of
midnight? Alfred endeavored to solve this mystery, but
in vain; so he finally returned home and went to bed,
ratlier the worse for the numerous glasses of brandy he
had taken to assist him in his mental efforts.

He did not open his eyes until nearly noon the next day,
and had no little difficulty in recalling the events of the
previous night.

The most disagreeable of these events was certainly the
loss of his two hundred and sixty louis, but he had been
winning a good deal for some time past, so he consoled
himself with the thought that his good luck would soon
return.

His recollection of Olga had become rather indistinct,
but the image of the chestnut-haired beauty was indelibly
engraved upon his heart, and he immediately resolved to
pay her the call he had promised the evening before.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWIST.

So he breakfasted, made a very careful toilet, and be-
tween the hours of two and three repaired to the Grand
Hotel.

The clerk could not find the name upon the register at
first, but after looking some time he announced that the
lady in question had arrived that morning, that her apart-
ments were on the third fioor, and that she was in.

‘^That is strange, Fresnay said to himself. She
gave me this address yesterday, and she has been here
only since early this morning.’’

Upon the first landing he met a gentleman who, on
perceiving him, averted his face and applied his handker-
chief to his nose in such a way as to efiectually conceal
his visage; but his figure and general appearance forcibly
reminded Fresnay of the Hungarian Mme. de Lugos had
joined the evening before at the Cafe des Ambassadeurs.

Good!” he thought, I am just in time. A quarter
of an hour sooner 1 should have found my place taken,
o^^ow it is vacant, and I shall amuse myself a little by jok-
ing the countess on the assiduous attentions of her com-
patriot. Heaven grant that she may give me a cordial
reception. She must have finished her toilet by this
time; besides, I have the vanity to believe that she is ex-
pecting a visit from me.”

He was quite out of breath when he reached the third
fioor and rapped at the door of the fair lady’s apartments.
Another surprise awaited him there, for soon he heard a
light step, the door was partially opened, and a woman’s
face appeared.

Two exclamations of surprise resounded at the same in-
stant. The woman recognized him, and he, too, recog-
nized her.

It was Olga, the clairvoyant of the Cafe Americain, who
stood before him.

She had changed her costume for the trim coquettish
attire of the typical soubrette, and this new garb became
her well.

Instead of admitting Fresnay immediately, the shrewd
creature closed the door directly behind her, opened the
door leading into the corridor a little wider, and exclaimed :

What, is this you? What brought you here?”

I called to see tlie lady I promised to bring to you to

M ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWiT.

have her fortune told,” replied Fresnay, laughing; but
as I find you here — ”

Don’t speak so loud, I beg. If she should hoar
you—”

So you are her maid?”

As you see.”

And it was to meet her at the Western Railway Station
tliat you left me so abruptly this morning?”

Yes. So you know her?”

Certainly. She is even expecting a visit from me.
Ask her if she is not. Shall I give you my card? Ko,
'that is unnecessary, for I gave you one at the restaurant,
and I am sure that you have not lost it, and that you
know the name by heart.”

The peal of a bell resounded from the next room.

^^My mistress is becoming impatient, and I must go.
But not a word, promise me. If madame knew you had
met me before she might dismiss me.”

And you would be reduced to fortune-telling again.
Very well, I will say nothing, on condition that you will
give me some information from time to time, in regard to
this same Countess de Lugos, and the life she is leading in
Paris.”

Olga had not time to reply, for Mme. de Lugos, losing
patience, opened the inner door herself, and paused in
very evident astonishment on seeing her maid engaged in
conversation with a man whom she did not at first recog-
nize.

Fresnay lost no time in averting the questions that were
evidently upon the lady’s lips.

Pardon me, madame,” he said, removing his hat,
^^your maid, who does not know me, refused me admis-
sion; but I insisted on being received. Did I do wrong?”

^^No,” replied the countess, after an instant’s hesita-
tion. I was just going out, but as you have taken the
trouble to climb so many stairs — ”

A thousand thanks. I will promise not to detain you
long.”

Olga stepped aside to allow the baron to pass. The
countess’s apartments consisted, apparently, of three com-
municating rooms, the first of which was filled with im-
mense trunks that seemed to be nearly new.

You see I am scarcely settled yet,” remarked Mme.

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWJ^^".

de Lugos. I doii^t expect to make a very long stay at
the hotel, and that is the reason I have not yet opened my
innumerable trunks. But I have a parlor where we can
chat more comfortably.’’

Then turning to her maid, she added:

I am at home to no one.”

Alfred followed the countess into the stiffly furnished
parlor, and seated himself beside her on the sofa.

must confess that I did not expect to see you again,
began Mme. de Lugos. I felt sure that you had en-
tirely forgotten our chance meeting at the Concert Cafe
by this time.”

^^Then you are not offended with me for having vent-
ured to call?” asked Fresnay, quickly.

‘^No; but I am afraid that I was rash in promising to
receive you. Still, we are of the same social rank, and I
must confess that your conversation last evening enter-
tained me greatlv, so perhaps it matters verv little after
all.”

Certainly not. What harm can a little innocent con-
versation do either of us? But, by the way, what have
you done with Monsieur Tergowitz?”

What a memory you have for names!”

And faces, too. I just met the gentleman on the
stairs, and recognized him instantly.”

‘^He did just leave me. You are not disposed to cen-
sure me for receiving his visits, I suppose?”

Oh, no. I have plenty of faults, but I am not jeal-
ous.”

Jealous!” repeated the countess, bursting into a laugh.

What right have you to be jealous in this case, pray?”

It would be rather presumptuous, that’s a fact. Be-
sides, your Hungarian friend is a very gentlemanly look-
ing fellow, and I hope that after the concert he showed
you some interesting portion of this strange city with
which you are so anxious to become acquainted.”

On the contrary, he only took me to the Cafe ISTapoli-
tain to get an ice, and then escorted me back to the hotel.
I was terribly tired, and slept, oh so soundly!”

I did not. I thought of you all night, and did not
go to bed until five o’cloClc this morning. I can not sleep
when I am in love.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

In love, you! Confess the truth. You spent the
night at the card-table or in supping with your friends.’’

I don’t deny it. That is my way of curing my heart-
aches. This time the remedy did not prove efectual,
however. I lost a great deal of money, and I am more
entirely your slave than ever.”

‘‘^You will soon be cured of your infatuation. The
pecuniary loss is a more serious matter, and if it be
large — ”

‘^Oh, it will not inconvenience me. I have money
enough to indulge in a few expensive whims if I choose.
There ife one I should like to gratify. May I? It depends
entirely upon you.”

^^Upon me?”

Yes, I inherited, last year, the property of an uncle,
who bequeathed to me, among other things, a very pretty
little house on the Eue Mozart, in Passy. I have never
succeeded in renting it, and I never could make up my
mind to live in it. It is too far off. I prefer my rooms
on the Eue de 1’ Arcade.”

‘^Ah! you live on the Eue de I’Arcade?”

Yes, at TsTo. 19. I forgot to tell you yesterday that I
have very cozy bachelor quarters there. But I have just
taken it into my head to rent my house on the Eue Mo-
zart to a pretty woman, and as yon say you want a house,
why should you not be the tenant I am looking for.^^”

You must have lost your senses!”

^^By no means. You need sign no lease, and you
will be at liberty to leave the house at any time; but dur-
ing your stay in Paris, you would be infinitely more com-
forlable there than in a hotel, so I don’t see why you
should not accept my proposal.”

^^Biit I came to Paris to enjoy myself, and I fear I
should find it very dull there.”

It shall not be my fault if you do. I promise you
that. Will you accept my offer?”

Can you suppose that I can answer yes or no exactly as
if it were only a question of taking a drive in the Bois?
What a strange opinion you must have formed of me.”

And why, if you please? Tjie arrangement I propose
is very sensible, it seems to me. You told me yesterday
that you were looking for suitable quarters. I offer you

ZIG-ZAG, THE OLOWH. 97

my house afc whatever rental you may think proper. Give
me the preference. That is all I ask.”

I must have time for reflection,” said the countess,
laughing,

o o

In other words, you wish to consult Monsieur Tergo-
witz.”

never consult anything but my own inclination.
You seem to be entirely mistaken in regard to the nature
of my relations with that gentleman. He was one of my
father’s dearest friends.”

“ Indeed! He looks very young for that.”

He is a little older than I am. I should have said
that he was my father’s ward. We were brought'up to-
gether. You will not be likely to meet him, however, for
he just called to inform me that he expects to leave Paris
this evening. Important business matters oblige him to
return to Hungary. By the way, you suggested my con-
sulting some friend just now. Let me suggest that you,
in turn, consult the gentleman you introduced to me last
evening — Monsieur Gemozac. Ask him what he thinks
of this scheme of yours.”

I don’t think he would even take the trouble to
express an opinion. Mademoiselle Camille Monistrol en-
grosses all his thoughts, and he has ceased to take any in-
terest in my affairs. He has been seized with an irresist-.
ible desire to discover the late Monistrol’s assassin, and if
he is not speedily cured of his folly, it will not surprise
me to see him a member of the detective force.”

I can not find it in my heart to blame him. Indeed,
I should be very grateful to you if you would keep me
informed of your generous friend’s efforts to aid that
young girl in avenging her father.”

I will not fail to do so, and I thank you for thus giv-
ing me an assurance that I shall see you often. You
shall have a full report every day, if you wish.”

But I must trespass upon your time no longer,” he
added, rising suddenly* I hope to receive a favorable
answer to my proposal to-morrow, my dear countess, and
until then good-bye.”

He left the room so hastily that he nearly overturned
Olga, who was listening at the door. He motioned her to
follow him, and as she accompanied him to the end of the

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN-.

passage, heiound an opportunifcy to whisper, as he slipped
a one hundred-franc note into her hand:

You see I am willing to pay liberally. Serve me faith-
fully, and you will make more money than you ever did
by fortune- telling. You know where I live. Call and
see me occasionally, between the hours of ten and eleven,
in the morning. I shall have a host of questions to ask
you, and I will not haggle about the price of your infor-
mation.”

^ CHAPTER VI.

Camille Monistrol, being nearly overwhelmed with
fatigue and emotion, did not rise until very late on the
morning following the eventful night which had so nearly
been her last.

Brigitte, whom she had aroused about two o’clock in
the morning to pay and dismiss the coachman, had re-
frained from questioning her about her adventures, and
even from asking why Courapied and Georget had not re-
turned with her.

Brigitte did not regret their absence by any means, and
especially congratulated herself upon being well rid of
Vigoureux, the terrible brute that seemed inclined to de-
vour everything and everybody that came in his way.

She hoped, too, that her young mistress had renounced
her chimerical schemes of revenge; and Camille did not
think it advisable to undeceive her. Still less could she
confess to Brigitte that a young man who was almost a
stranger to her now engrossed her thoughts, and that she
was even now impatiently awaiting his coming.

This was the real state of things, however. She could
hardly wait to see the brave defender who had rescued
her, at the peril of his life, from the hands of two vile
wretches. She owed more than life to him, and yet she
had scarcely had time to express her gratitude. Indeed,
he had evaded her thanks with a modesty that greatly
enhanced the value of the service rendered.

He had promised to call and see her, but would he
keep his promise? Camille almost doubted it. She said
to herself that a man of the world would feel it his duty

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWII.

to succor a young girl assailed by scoundrels in a lonely spot,
but that he would not consider it incumbent upon him
to continue the acquaintance thus formed; and this man
was evidently a man of the world — one who must move
in the very best society, in fact. The name he bore, his
personal appearance, his attire and his distinguished man-
ners, all indicated, beyond any possibility of doubt, that
he belonged to the aristocracy.

Why, then, should he give any further thought to a
singular adventure, which was evidently in no way con-
nected with his ordinary life? The little that Camille had
said to him about her personal situation, and her expedi-
tion in search of an assassin, was not calculated •to induce
a fashionable gentleman to grant her his protection, much
less to second her in her efforts. Men willing to make
detectives of themselves, to oblige a woman, are rare.

And yet, Mile. Monistrol must rely upon this young
man’s assistance not only in her attempt to find Zig-Zag,
but also Courapied and his son, who had paid so dearly
for their devotion. Were they dead, or had they survived
their terrible fall? However that might be, Camille could
not abandon them. Indeed, she already began to re-
proach herself bitterly for having followed the advice of
M. de Menestreau, who had urged her to return home,
and not incur a risk of sharing the fate of her unfortunate
auxiliaries.

He had probably done quite right in thus preventing
lier from endangering her life, but this certainly need not
deter her from making the attempt under more favorable
conditions: that is to say, by daylight, and with more
formidable weapons than a pocket pistol, and, above all,
with a brave and sensible friend who would not shrink
from danger, but who would run no unnecessary risk.

And this friend could be only this same M. de Menes-
treau. Camille could, think of no other person who was
in a position to attempt this difficult task. If he failed
her, there would be nothing left for her but to apply to
the police, though she had lost all confidence in them
since her father’s death.

On rising, she resumed her mourning garments, and,
after vainly attempting to do justice to Brigitte’s excel-
lent breakfast, she went out into what she called her gar-
den, that is to say, into the yard that surrounded the

100

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWK.

house. There were some borders where she had sown a
few seeds that were just beginning to spring u}^, and she
never failed to water them morning and evening. She
was about to do so now, when the sound of carriage wheels
made her start.

She turned quickly, but she saw, instead of the person
she was expecting, Mme. Gemozac and her son alighting
from a handsome coupe.

They could not have come at a more inopportune
moment; but it was too late to avoid them, so Camille
stepped forward to meet them. Julien bowed low, and
Mme. Gemozac, kissing the young girl upon both cheeks,
said, in a most affectionate tone:

have come to you, my dear child, as you will not
come to us. They talk only of you at home, and my hus-
band would have accompanied me if his time was not so
entirely engrossed by business. Julien, who is differently
situated, would insist upon calling with me.’’

Camille stammered a few words of thanks, but it was
very evident that her thoughts were elsewhere.

^^How did you spend the day yesterday, after you left
us?” continued Mme. Gemozac. have done very

wrong to leave you alone in this house, which must be so
full of harrowing associations; and really I must insist
upon your leaving it as soon as possible. We are all very
fond of you,- and I hope that you will consider yourself
quite one of our family, and that you will not grieve us by
living so far aloof from us.”

am very grateful to you, madame,” replied the girl;
‘^but I explained to you why I desired to remain where I
am. I have a duty to perform; and, until I succeed in
finding my father’s murderer — ”

^^What! you still persist in that scheme, my dear
Camille? Why, it is arrant folly.”

Possibly, madame, but I shall not abandon it. ”

Then permit me to remind you that you have ac-
cepted my -aid,” interposed Julien.

I know it, sir, and 1 do not repent of it. But I, too,
must act in the matter; and I now have reason to believe
that I shall discover the culprit. I at least know that he
has renounced his former business, and also that he is still
in Paris.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

101

that case it will be impossible fnr him to escape a
well-organized search. He can easily be identified by the
remarkable shape and size of his hands, and I shall begin
by giving the detectives I employ a full description of
them. I shall also assist them, if necessary, in ferreting
out the wretch.’’

I am deeply grateful to you, sir, for your kindly in-
tentions,” Camille replied.

But all the while she was thinking:

It is not you who will find Zig-Zag, however; and the
only man who is capable of finding him does not come.”

Mme. Gemozac did not think it advisable to oppose her
son just then; but she resolved to make him listen to
reason as soon as she was again alone with him.

The prudent mother’s visit to Mile. Monistrol was not
due solely to the interest she felt in the orphan. It had
an object. Mme. G6mozac had perceived that her son
was deeply interested in Camille; and that very morning
she had extorted from Julien a confession that he was
deeply in love with the young lady.

Mme. Gemozac, though she did not really oppose this
plan of a marriage with the wealthy heiress of the inventor,
Monistrol, nevertheless felt it her duty to become better
acquainted with the young girl before giving her consent
to the match.

Camille was a very charming girl, but the Gemozacs
knew almost nothing about her. They had never seen her
until after her father’s death, and were entirely ignorant
of her habits of life, and of her true character. Lovers
seldom trouble themselves about these details; mothers feel
very differently, and Mme. Gemozac did not intend that
her son should declare his love without her consent, and
she also hoped to prevent him from engaging in a danger-
ous and absurd undertaking merely to please a foolish
young girl.

Feeling the necessity of changing the subject without
delay, she hastily remarked:

And this is the house you refuse to leave! How can
you be so fond of it?”

I have always lived here, madame, and my father died
here,” replied Mile. Monistrol, rather dryly.

But it is not a suitable hom.e for a young girl.”

And why, madame?”

102

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

Because ifc is too lonely. The woman you spoke of
yesterday is with you to protect you, I hope?”

^'Brigitte? Yes, madame. She is liere. Would you
like to see her? I will call her if you wish.”

"No, that is not necessary. But will you not invite us
in? I am anxious to see again the room in wliich your
poor father was killed. My son has told me all that oc-
curred during that terrible night.”

^‘1 have not forgotten what he did for me,” murmured
Camille.

^‘But what 1 did, mademoiselle, is nothing in compar-
ison with what I would like to do,” said Julien, eagerly.
‘‘I need only a word from you — ”

‘‘Are you not going in the house?” interrupted Mine.
Gemozac, anxious to cut short her son’s offers of service.

“ Do you really insist upon it?” asked Mile. Monistrol.

‘'‘I hardly suppose that you intend to entertain us in
the yard where every passer-by can see us,” replied Mme.
Gernozac, consideraldy piqued.

“lam used to it, and as I have nothing to conceal, it
makes no difference to me whether people are watching
me or not.”

“Very well, mademoiselle. It is plain that you do not
desire our compan}^ so there is nothing left for us but to
go.”

“You misunderstand me entirely, madame. The only
reason I do not invite you in is that it is always very
painful to me to enter the room in which my father was
so cruelly murdered.”

“It is a matter of no consequence, especially as I have
but little time at my disposal this morning,” was the cold
answer. “ I must therefore take leave of you. When
you feel any inclination to come and see us, you will be
very cordially received, and my husband bade me remind
you that his purse was at your disposal.”

Camille, cut to the quick, made a deprecating gest-
ure, which did not escape Julien’s keen eyes.

“ That is hardly a correct statement of the case,” he in-
terposed, quickly. “You are my father’s partner, made-
moiselle, and any money you may require is, of course, at
your disposal. I would gladly give my life to serve you,
and I beg that you will tell me all you know about the

103

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

wretch yon are seeking. Yon jnst remarked that he is
still in Paris.”

‘‘Yes, at least he was last night.”

“Did yon see him?”

“ No, bnt I am sure of what I say.”

“ Then yon have already entered npon yonr campaign,
I suppose?” said Mme. Gemozac, ironically.

“ Yes, madame,” was the girl’s unhesitating reply.

“ Yon have lost no time, I see, and it seems to me that
yon can easily dispense with Jnlien’s aid.”

“ I did not solicit it, and I accepted it only because I
am already under such deep obligations to yonr son that
the idea of being still more deeply indebted to him was
not distasteful to me. But I should be miserable if I
supposed he would expose himself to any danger on my
account, or if I thought he would imperil his life by help-
ing me to find my father’s murderer.”

“Nevertheless, I am more than willing to do so!” ex«
claimed Julien, earnestly.

On hearing this enthusiastic response Mme. Gemozae
lost her temper entirely.

“You are mad,” she said, angrily. “I will not have
you transform yourself into a detective merely to please
mademoiselle.”

“I am master of my own actions,” replied Julien,
coldly, “and I must call your attention to the fact,
mother, that this is no place to discuss this subject.”

“ That is true. Let us go, for I trust you will not com-
pel me to go alone.”

“ Certainly not, mother, but I hope that Mademoiselle
Monistrol will permit me to call again at an early day.”

Camille made no reply. She did not wish to offend the
mother or woumi the son, but she was determined not to
yield, even if she were obliged to alienate the wife of her
father’s generous partner, and refuse the aid of the young
man who seemed so eager to serve her.

“Farewell, mademoiselle,” said Mme. Gemozac, coldly.
“I am sorry to have disturbed you. You are expecting
some visitor, doubtless, and it is time that we should give
place to him.”

“ You are mistaken, madame,” faltered Camille, blush-
ing deeply.

104

ZIG-ZAG, mE CLOW^t.

I am not mistaken. See, a carriage has just driven up
to your gate.’’

A carriage had indeed stopped in front of the house, and
at the window appeared a face which Mile. Mouistrol in-
stantly recognized, but which was instantly withdrawn.

We are evidently in the gentleman’s way,” remarked
Mme. Gemozac. Come, my son, we have no further
business here.”

This time Julien followed his mother without a word,
and Camille, deeply humiliated, saw them re-enter their
coupe and drive away.

The visitor who had put them to flight had hastily
pulled up the glass, and drawn back into a corner of the
carriage.

It is he!” murmured Camille, and he fears to dis-
please me by showing himself.”

She felt no little remorse at having wounded the son
and irritated the mother when she could have mentioned
the name of her visitor, and even have introduced him to
them without blushing. But to explain his visit it
would be necessary to divulge the events of the previous
night, and she instinctively felt that they would disap-
prove of her conduct. Moreover, she felt that it would
be worse tlian useless to speak of an expedition which had
been so unfortunate in its results.

Then, too, she was overcome with joy at the sight of
her preserver. He, perhaps, brought tidings of her un-
fortunate friends, and she had so many things to say to
him.

He waited until the coupe was some distance off before
he alighte:!. Mile. Mouistrol had advanced half way to
meet him, and as he approached her, hat in hand,
she could better appreciate his personal charms than she
had been able to do in the dimly-lighted Avenue de Clichy.
He seemed to her now much handsomer than he did the
evening before. His exceedingly sympathetic and pleas-
ing face wore a grave and even affectionate expression,
and he seemed to be trying to read the thoughts of the
young girl whose eyes met his so frankly.

Excuse my tardiness, mademoiselle,” he said gently.

I did not call this morning for fear of disturbing you,
for I knew that you would be in great need of rest. And
even now, I fear, I came too soon, for you were not alone.”

ZIG-ZAGj, THE CLOWH.

105

Madiime Gemozac and her sou were with rue. My
father, only the day before his death, associated himself
with Monsieur Gemozac in the manufacture of a patent
of which he was the iiiYentor, and the young man you
just saw came to my aid on the evening of the murder.
But I am talking of matters you know nothing about,
for last night I could not tell you my story.’’

You merely told me that you were hunting for your
father’s assassin.”

My story is very short and simple. A wretch crept
into our house one evening. He sprung upon my father,
strangled him and then fled. I pursued him as far as the
Place du Trone, where I saw him enter a building in which
a company of acrobats were giving an exhibition. I tried
to secure his arrest, but no one would listen to me, and I
very narrowly escaped being arrested myself. Monsieur
Julien Gemozac happened to be present, and he protected
me, though he did not know me. When I returned here
in company with him, I found my father dead.”

^‘That was terrible! Why didn’t you denounce the as-
sassin without loss of time?”

‘^1 lay for several days between life and death, and when
I became able to take any action in the matter, it was. too
late. The acrobat I accused had been examined and re-
leased. It was not until yesterday that I succeeded in
flnding any trace of him — and you know the result of the
expedition I attempted — ”

^^IJpon the advice of the persons who accompanied you,
I suppose.”

Yes, a man who formerly belonged to the same troupe
as this Zig-Zag.”

^MVhat a singular name!”

^^He has another name, of course, but I have not suc-
ceeded in discovering it. The scoundrel fled with the wife
of one of his comrades — the same man who furnished me
with my information. The poor man had a son, about
twelve years of age, whom we took with us, and who dis-
appeared with his father. But pardon me, sir, I have
neglected to invite you in.”

She turned toward the house, M. deMenestreau accom-
panying her. In the doorway they met Brigitte, who
seemed not a little surprised to see her young mistress in
the company of this handsome young man. Camille con-

106

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWH.

ducted her preserver straight to tlie dining-room^ where
she had not eaten a morsel since the murder.

It was here that the assassin concealed himself/’ she
remarked.

‘^How did he gain an entrance?” inquired M. de Menes-
treau. ‘^Had your servant neglected to lock the door?”

“We had no servant at that time. The one you just
saw has been with me only a few days. My father took
no precautions against thieves, as we possessed nothing that
would be likely to tempt them. But, unfortunately, on
that day, we had received twenty thousand francs from
Monsieur Gemozac. How the assassin became aware of
this fact, I do not know, but lie certainly was aware of it.
The terrible deed was committed in this way. My
father was seated at the table, completing a drawing he
w^as to take to his paitner. The curtains near which you
are standing were closed as they are now. Suddenly. I
saw a hand appear between the two portieres and part
them.”

“ Like this,” said M. de Menestreau, stepping forward.

As he spoke he removed his glove and parted the cur-
tains with his bare hand, a slender white hand — an
aristocratic hand with taper fingers and almond-shaped
nails, the exact opposite of the frightful claw-like hands
that had so often haunted Camille in her dreams.

“Yes,” replied Mile. Monistrol, “and that hand was
all I could see of the murderer’s person.”

“AVhat! you would not recognize his face if you should
see it again?”

“ No, as he sprung upon my father he overturned the
lamp. It went out, and —

“ Then how can you hope to find him?”

“ He had the hands of a gorilla, and I should only
have to see them to say with certainty: This is the
man !”

“Yes, that is, indeed, a i3eculiarity which maybe of
service to us — if we should be fortunate enough to find the
culprit.”

“ You doubt it, then?”

“ I fear the expedition of last night may have caused
him to decamp — that is, if he was really an occupant of
the old house you spoke of.”

ZIG-ZAO, THE CLOWH. 107

No matter; my friends are there. I can not abandon
them to their fate.’’

‘^1 liave come to take you there. I would have gone
alone, but I did not know exactly where to look for the
house. You must show me the way to it, and we will
talk the matter over, and see what it is best to do.”

Thanks. I expected no less of you, and I am ready to
accompany you.”

‘^Then the same carriage that brought me here can
take us to the Porte Saint-Ouen. From that point w^e
will proceed on foot. 1 will conduct you to the place
where I met you last night. The house can not be far
from there. I am rejoiced to see that you have enough
confidence in me to be willing to accept me as a c'om-
'pagyion de voyaged^

Gladly. How could I possibly doubt one who saved
my life?”

And you feel quite sure that no one will reproach you
for the step you are taking?”

Who would venture to do that? Now I have lost my
father, I arn alone in the world, and no one has any right
to control my actions.”

What, have you no guardian?”

No; if I had, it would be Monsieur Gemozac, my
poor fatlier’s partner. He is my guardian to all intents
and purposes, as my entire property is in his hands. He
is to furnisli the necessary money for the manufacture
and introduction of the patent which is my sole inherit-
ance, and he will take charge of my income for me.”

“ All this makes it the more necessary that you should
have a guardian to watch over your interests. But pardon
me, mademoiselle, for thus meddling with your affairs.
The interest I feel in you is my only excuse.”

Now, shall we not start out upon our expedition
without further delay?”

Camille eagerly acquiesced.

A few moments afterward, as she took her seat in the
carriage, she noticed a large bundle on the floor at her
feet.

I am prepared for any emergency, you see,” remarked
her new friend. I may be obliged to explore the cave or
cellar, so I have taken the precaution to provide myself

108 ‘ ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWiSr.

witli a rope and a few implements which may prove of
service.’’

thank you most sincerely, sir,” replied Camille,
blit remember that I am to accompany you wherever
yon go.”

I have no objection to your doing so, provided you
do not expose yourself to unnecessary danger.”

Blit you do not hesitate to imperil your life, though
you have no loved one to avenge.”

ladore adventure, and danger always has an irresistible
charm for me. Still, I must confess that it is chiefly sym-
pathy for you that prompts me. You inspire me with a
feeling I can scarcely define. You would laugh at me, if
I should tell you that I fell in love with you when I met
you in an apprentice’s blouse on the Plaine Saint-Denis;
and I do not believe in love at first sight any more than you
do. But a profound interest and regard would very
naturally spring from circumstances like those that brought
118 together. You are alone in the world, and so am I.
I think, too, that we are congenial in character. Hence
it is only natural that we should understand each other
thoroughly, even on a short acquaintance; and it was
doubtless fore- ordained that W'e were to meet face to face
some day. But all this sounds very like a declaration of
love. That would be premature, liowever, and I assure you
that you are not to regard it in such a light.”

see that you are one of the most frank and generous
of men,” said Mile. Monistrol, deeply touched.

Still, if I should ever venture upon a declaration of
love, I should have an excellent excuse for making it toyou
in person,” continued George de Menestreau, gayly, for
I should not know who else to apply to, as you have no
father, mother or guardian. For want of some one better
I should be obliged to appeal to Monsieur Gemozac, and
that gentleman would be sure to think that I was after
your fortune.”

I do not know whether he would impute such im-
probable sentiments to you or not,” interrupted Mile.
Monistrol, but I am not dependent upon Monsieur
Gemozac, and if I ever marry, I shall choose my husband
myself. But before choosing him, I should have to know
him thoroughly — ”

While you do not know me at all. All I ask, however.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

is that after this expedition — whatever the result of it may
be — you will not insist that our acquaintance shall
terminate.”

I should be very sorry if it did,” replied Camille, quick-
ly. You will ever be welcome at my house. Besides,
how could I dispense with your assistance? It is not like-
ly that we shall succeed in finding Zig-Zag to-day, and I
have no one else to aid me in discovering him.”

Monsieur G6mozac has been informed of your plans,
I presume?”

Yes, but he disapproves them.”

And he is too old to be of much service to you. But
how about his son — the young man I saw in your garden
when I drove up?”

He approves them, or at least he pretends to approve
them; but, unfortunately, he is incapable of rendering me
any effectual aid. Just now, for instance, he was advising
the employment of detectives — ”

Who would do nothing at all. They had the culprit
in their custody once, and they released him. They can
not be depended upon; that is evident. We will do better
than they have done, mademoiselle, you may rest assured
of that.”

The conversation flagged after this. In about a quar-
ter of an hour Camille and her companion reached the
Porte Saint-0 uen, where they alighted, and then they
walked together over the same road they had traversed the
night before.

From the place of their first meeting, the brick house
was distinctly visible on the plain, only a few hundred
yards from the Route de la Revolte, and Mile. Monis-
trol pointed it out to George de Menestreau.

It is not so far from the fortifications as I supposed,”
he remarked, and I am glad to see that there are no
houses near it, for that being the case, there will be no
one to disturb us.”

They soon reached the dilapidated front of the house,
and Camille had no difficulty in pointing out the window
at which Amanda had appeared. The shutters were still
open, hence it seemed more than probable that the former
inmates of the house had lost no time in making their es-
cape with their dog.

I would suggest that we examine the house on all

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWX.

sides, mademoiselle,’’ said M. de Menestreau. There
may be another door by which the wretches made their
escape, and by which we can enter the house withouc dan-
ger of breaking our necks,”

They found the opposite, side of the house even more
dilapidated. The wall was full of large holes, and the
portions of it that were still standing seemed likely to give
way at any moment. Indeed, the very bricks of which it
was composed seemed to have been calcined by heat and
loosened by an explosion.

have it!” exclaimed George. This building was
once used for the manufacture of fireworks, and one fine
day some of the combustibles took fire, and blew the
whole establishment up. The accident must have occurred
a long time ago, for plants are growing in the crevices of
the wall, and the ruins have since served as a place of
refuge for all the scoundrels in the neighborhood. Ah!
here is another door, at the foot of an exceedingly unsafe
looking staircase.”

It is strong enough to hold us, however,” said Camille,
darting forward before her companion had time to pre-
vent it.

He was obliged to follow her, and he reached the large
empty room to which the stairs led almost at the same
moment that she did.

The wretches have been here, evidently,” said the
young man, pointing to a half burnt candle that was
lying on the floor.

Yes,” replied Camille, and there is the rope, and the
halter that served as a muzzle for the dog.”

The wretches must have taken him with them. So
much the better! He will perhaps help us to find them
again. What surprises me most, is that they did not
pursue you after making way with your companions.”

^^But we must now try to ascertain what became of
their victims, and this is not the place to look for thern.’^

They descended the stairs together, and then perceived
for the first time that the hall extended from one side of
the house to the other.

In exploring this dark and treacherous passage, the
floor of which had given way in ’many places, it was
natural for M. de Menestreau to go first. He even tried
to prevent Mile. Monistrol from following him, but in

Ill

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

vain. They proceeded very cautiously, however, testing
the floor carefully at every step.

see the opening,” George remarked, after a little.
^^It is time for me to liglit my lantern and explore the
depths of this pit.”

He opened his bundle and took from it a rope, and
also a lantern, wliich he proceeded to light, after which he
continued his slow advance toward the opening, still
closely followed by Camille.

Why, here is a ladder!” he exclaimed, on reaching the
edge of the opening.

There was indeed a ladder, two rounds of which pro-
jected above the floor, and the other end of which must
rest upon the bottom of the cellar.

I hope you are not going down,” said Camille, hastily.

I must take a look into the pit first. I shall then
know what it is best to do,” replied the young man.

He fastened the lantern to one end of the rope, and then
slowly low'ered it into the opening.

‘^Georget!” called Mile. Monistrol, leaning over the
edge of the pit.

There was no response.

They are dead,” she whispered, drawing closer to her
new friend.

We have good reason to fear that they are, for the
lantern has not yet touched bottom, and I have lowered
at least twelve feet of rope. Ah, it touclies bottom at
last. A fall of fifteen or sixteen feet is quite enough to
kill a man, to say nothing of a child. If your friends had
survived the fall, they would have availed themselves of
the ladder; that is, unless Zig-Zag brought it here after-
ward in order to descend and dispatch them. I must
go down and satisfy myself upon this point, for though
I have been moving my lantern about down there, I can
see nothing.”

I will go down with you,” said Camille.

Pray do not tliink of such *a thing, mademoiselle.
You could not descend the ladder; besides, if the bodies
of your unfortunate friends are there, how could you en-
dure the sight?”

Camille could not repress a shitdder at the thought.

^^Moreover, we must be prepared for any possible con-
tingency,” continued M. de Menestreau. What if Zig-

112

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

Zag should be hiding somewhere about here, and should
take it into his head to cut off our retreat by taking
away the ladder? It would be far better for you to re-
main here, so you can warn me if you hear any suspicious
sound/’

But what if the wretch should be hiding in the cellar,
and should attack you as soon as you reach the bottom of
the ladder?”

He would meet with a warm reception. I have a six-
shooter in my pocket, and I would blow his brains, out
before he had a chance to touch me.”

As he spoke, the young man placed his foot on the top-
most round of the ladder, and began the descent, swing-
ing the lantern back and forth in front of him.

A prey to the most poignant anxiety, Camille watched
the light which grew more and more dim in proportion as
M. de Menestreau descended lower and lower.

At last the voice of the brave explorer reached' her, clear
and distinct.

^‘1 have reached the bottom, and have found nothing
as yet. I am going to make the tour of the cellar. Don’t
be alarmed if you lose sight of my lantern, I shall not be
gone long.”

The light suddenly disappeared, and though the eclipse
had been announced, it increased Mile. Monistrol’s terror
tenfold.

It seemed to her that she would never see again her
brave preserver, the only friend she had left in the world.

She waited a minute — five minutes, then, unable to en-
dure the suspense any longer, she called M. de Menes-
treau by name.

The call remained unanswered, and the light did not
reappear. Despair seized her.

^^He is dead,” she moaned; Zig-Zag was lying in
wait for him below. Zig-Zag has killed him. He kills
all whom I love. Ah, well, let him kill me, too!”

And without pausing to reflect, she started to descend
into the depths from which no one had ever returned.

Very fortunately Mile. Monistrol did not have time to
carry this senseless project into execution, for she had
scarcely placed her foot ujDon the first round of the ladder
before a friendly voice called oat from below:

Here I am, mademoiselle.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWII.

113

Never did a soldier lost among the wilds of Africa hear
the bugle of the company he had been seeking for hours
with greater delight

Camille stepped back upon the rickety floor of the pas-
sage, then, turning to look down, saw beneath her M. de
Menestreau slowly ascending the ladder with his lantern.

She felt almost tempted to throw her arms about his
neck when he reached the top, a little out of breath, but
safe and sound.

^MYell?'’ she asked, eagerly.

There is no one there. I saw nothing of your friends,
and Zig-Zag must be a long way ofl by this time.’’

Thank Heaven! I was terribly frightened. I could
not see your light, and you did not answer when I called
you.”

Because I did not hear you. The cellar is very large, *
and I wished to explore it carefully to satisfy myself that
there is no other place of egress. One can enter it and
leave it only by this trap-door. It has been used only as
a receptacle for coal, probably, as there are still some piles
of coal dust there.”

But what has become of Courapied and his son? Can
it be that Zig-Zag buried them where they fell?”

The same idea occurred to me, but I examined the
ground carefully, and satisfied myself that it had not been
disturbed.”

They may have made their escUpe by the ladder.
Still, that is hardly probable, for they must have been
seriously, if not fatally, injured by their fall.”

^^No, the pile of coal dust may have broken their fall,
and it would not surprise me to find that they did make
use of the ladder to escape from the cellar.”

I can not believe that the scoundrels who set this trap
for them would have allowed them to make their escape.”

will tell you presently how I explain their mysteri-
ous disapjiearance. But there is nothing more for us to
do here, so let us go.”

Mile. Monistrol made no objection. The idea of criticis-
ing her preserver’s acts or refusing to fellow his advice,
did not once occur to her.

They went through the house again before returning
to the Porte Saint-Ouen by the same road that had brought
them there.

114

2IG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

Camille anxiously waited for M. de Menestreau to speak.
She dared not question him.

Mademoiselle/^ he said, suddenly, I fear I shall
w^ound you by destroying a cherished illusion. You asked
me, just now, what could have become of your friends?
My opinion is that they have fled with Zig-Zag, and that,
they were in league witii him to entice you to this place.’’

In league with him! Impossible! Oourapied loathes
the cowardly scoundrel who stole his wife from him, and
Georget hates the step-mother who always treated him with
the utmost cruelty.”

‘^Nevertheless, I am still of the oinnion that all the
scoundrels had combined against you. Your two* guides
threw themselves boldly into the pit, knowing full well
that they would fall upon a pile of coal dust and sus-
tain no injury. They expected you would -follow them,
and, in this way, place yourself completely at their mercy.”

‘^But they could have killed me just as easily before
I reached the house.”

“ But not with impunity. Your body would have been
found, an investigation would have followed, and suspicion
would perhaps have fallen on your father’s murderer.
Zig-Zag would not care to have the police set upon his
track a second time. He would greatly have preferred to
strangle you in the cellar, or to shut you up there and
allow you to perisli of starvation. To do this last he
would only have been obliged to draw up the ladder by
which his accompfices made tlieir escape, and close the
trap-door, for this house has been abandoned for years.
The scheme was. a very clever one, and it is a miracle that
you escaped. Do you know why they did not pursue you?
Simply because they thought you had fallen into the cel-
lar, and they hastened there first.

Camille hung her head, but she could not make up her
mind to condemn her friends.

It is evident that Oourapied and his son did not re-
main in the cellar,” continued M. de Menestreau, ‘^con-
sequentl}^ some one must have helped them out. In
that case, h’ow does it happen that you have seen nothing
of them since? Had they been friends of yours, they
would have gone straight to your house. But they have
taken good care not to do that; hence they must be ene-
mies, and everything seems to indicate that they have

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWJST.

decamped with the other bandits. There is nothing to
prove that they will not repeat their efforts, however.
Zig-Zag knows now that you have sworn to pursue him to
the death, and he must be equally determined to get rid
of you. We have seen what he is capable of. He will nofc
accept his defeat; on the contrary, he will set another trap
for you. Indeed, he may attack you at night in your
lonely home, into which you have been so imprudent as to
admit his accomplices.’^

What must I do?” asked the girl. Advise me, sir;
you to whom I am indebted for my life.”

advise you to move immediately — to rent some
rooms in a more thickly settled part of the town, and hire
a trusty servant. I, myself, will attend to all these mat-
ters for you, if you desire it.”

Madame Gemozac made me the same offer — and I de-
clined it.”

Accept it, mademoiselle. Do not quarrel with a family
whose head holds your fortune in his hands. When you
are installed in suitable quarters, abandon dangerous ex-
peditions, and leave to me the task of ferreting out your
father’s murderer.”

^^How can you identify him? You have never seen
him.”

^^And you saw only his hands, which you have described
to me, so 1 know as much about him as you do; I also
have one great advantage over you: Zig-Zag does not know
me. W’’ill you give me full authority to act in your stead?
My efforts shall not prove unavailing, I promise you.”

Camille being evidently in doubt as to what to feply,
George de Menestreau added:

Take time to reflect, mademoiselle. I do not propose
to accompany you back to the Boulevard Voltaire. With
your permission, I will escort you to the carriage, and at
four o’clock to-morrow afternoon I will do myself the
honor to call and submit to you some plans that I can not,
or rather dare not, propose here.”

I shall expect you, sir,” replied Mile. Monistrol,
greatly agitated, but exceedingly anxious to know her new
friend’s meaning.

114.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWI^'.

CHAPTER VII.

A WEEK has elapsed, and there is a marked change in
the situation,

Camille Monistrol still thinks of avenging her father,
but she also thinks a great deal about George de Menes-
fcreau, who has declared his love, and is now an avowed
suitor for her hand.

Julien Gemozac has also declared his passion, in spite
of his mother’s counsels, but has obtained only evasive
replies from Mile. Monistrol. He suspects that he has a
rival, though he has never met him at the young lady’s
house, for he dares to present himself there only at such
hours as she appoints, and is obliged to content himself
with serving as an intermediary between his father and
Camille.

Alfred de Fresnay has succeeded in overcoming the
scruples of the Countess de Lugos, and that lady is now
comfortably established in the charming little house on
the Rue Ltozart, where she has a constant and apparently
not unwelcome visitor in the person of her handsome
landlord.

Fresnay is beginning to suspect that his charmer was
born at Batignolles or Belleville, but these suspicions do
not trouble him in the least. Olga is still in the employ
of Mine, de Lugos, and serves her mistress with exem-
plary zeal and fidelity. Fresnay has tried more than once
to learn through her something about the past of this
pretended countess, but Olga maintains a determined
silence, and all the liberal gratuities he bestows upon her
fail to unloose her tongue.

The denouement was much nearer than he suspected,
however.

One charming spring morning the baron drove briskly
down the Rue Mozart at a much earlier hour than he
usually selected for his visits to the eccentric countess.
He generally found the lady on the terrace or at the bay-
window overlooking the street, but on this particular oc-
casion she was not at her post. He rang several times,
but the summons remaining unanswered he involuntarily
placed his hand on the knob. It yielded to his touch.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWIS’.

and almost before he knew it he found himself in the hall
where Olga was usually waiting to receive him.

Hearing the sound of voices in the salon, Alfred walked
straight to it, and drew aside the heavy portiere that
separated it from the hall. A sight for which he was
totally unprepared greeted his eyes.

The salon was divided into two apartments by folding
doors, which held been opened to their widest extent. In
the room opening into the hall, and directly in front of
Alfred, though with her back toward him, sat Olga before
a small lacquer table strewn with cards, telling lier own
fortune or that of her mistress, whom Fresnay could not
see, or rather, whom he could see only at intervals, for
she suddenly appeared before him, six feet above the floor,
only to instantly disappear again, borne back by the steady
swaying of a trapeze upon which she was standing, in
complete acrobatic array — flesh-colored tights, short, pink
satin skirt, satin slippers, and unbound hair floating down
upon her bare shoulders.

She must have been a circus- performer,” thought
Fresnay. I always suspected something of the kind.”

To behold one’s lady-love perefhed upon the bar of a
trapeze is a pleasure vouchsafed to but few mortals, and
our eccentric friend experienced no little satisfaction as
he gazed upon this beautiful vision as it moved swiftly to
and fro through the air, like a bird, or the pendulum of a
clock.

So he took good care not to interrupt the exhibition,
particularly as Olga was talking quite loud, and he was
not sorry to have an opportunity to hear what she was say-
ing to the countess.

Here is the Knave of Hearts again!” exclaimed the
maid. It is a good card, but it turns up too often.”

Impossible! It can not appear too often,” replied
Mme. de Lugos, as she swung merrily to and fro.

AVe have seen him once to-day, and it would never do
for him to meet the King of Clubs.”

I am getting tired of the King of Clubs.”

Clubs mean money. But here is a troublesome Queen
of Diamonds. There seems likely to be trouble on account
of a woman.”

Any one who attempts to interfere with me will have

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

a hard time of it/^ replied the countess, from her aiiy
perch. ^‘But I don’t fear any rival.”

^‘Look! here comes the nine of spades, the very worst
card in the whole pack. I tell you, everything is going
to end badly.”

Nonsense! You bore me with your predietions. Go
and prepare my bath. It is time I began to dress. The
baron will be here presently.”

And he must not find himself face to face with the
Knave of Hearts.”

'"Ah! so I am the King of Clubs,” Fresnay said to
himself.

"Go,” continued the countess, "I will be up in about
five minutes, and then you can come down and get the
trapeze and the ropes.”

Olga gathered up her cards, rose and turned toward the
door, wliile her noble mistress executed what gymnasts
call a retablissement on the horizontal bar.

Fresnay had the presence of mind to conceal himself
in the folds of the curtain, and he did it so skillfully that
Olga passed him without seeing him.

A more deeply enamored lover would have followed her
at a little distance, to satisfy himself that the Knave of
Hearts was not concealed somewhere about the house; but
Fresnay was not jealous, and he could not resist the temp-
tation to play a joke upon Mme. de Lugos.

So he stole into the room on tiptoe, and found her still
swinging merrily to and fro on her trapeze.

" Good^morning, countess,” he said, in his blandest
tones.

She sprung up quickly, jumped to the floor, and stood
defiantly before him, with her arms folded upon her
breast.

" How did you get in?” she asked, curtly.

"By the door; it was open.”

"I should not have supposed that you would stoop to
play the spy upon me.”

"Nothing could have been further from my intentions.
I called a little earlier than usual, to invite you to take a
drive in the Bois; and after ringing several times in vain,
I took the liberty of trying the door, and finding it un-
locked, I ventured in. 1 can not say I regret it, as I have
surprised you in a costume that becomes you marvelously.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

119

and discover that you are the possessor of a talent to
which you have never alluded.”

I have often told you that I was an adrpirer of all
kinds of athletic sports. My father gave me my first les-
sons when I was scarcely seven years old. But there is a
matter about which I want to speak to you, I do not
find Parisian life as pleasant as I anticipated. On the
contrary, I am very lonely here, and I wish you would in-
troduce me to some of your friends, beginning with the
gentleman I saw with you at the Cafe des Ambassadeurs.”

Gemozac!” exclaimed Presnay; ‘‘you will find his so-
ciety anything but entertaning, I assure you.”

“ But why?” inquired the countess. “ I was very much
pleased with him the evening I met him, and I don’t see
why you have not brought him to call on me, unless, ^ler-
haps, you are jealous of him.”

“ On the contrary, I should be delighted to bring him;
but there is no doing anything with the fellow. He is in
love, and, what is worse, he longs to marry the object of
his affections.”

“ With whom is he so deeply infatuated?”

“ With an orphan.”

“ The daughter of Monistrol, the inventor, I suppose.
You spoke of her the evening I met you at the cafe.”

“ What a memory you have!”

“ I never forget anything you say, you see. I am not
like you, who forget everything you promise me. Did
you not promise to keep me posted in regard to the move-
ments of your friend, GSmozac? and yet, during all the
time I have been living on the Eue Mozart you have not
once mentioned his name.”

“ Had I suspected that his love affairs would have in-
terested you, 1 would have filled your ears with them.”

“How could T possibly help feeling an interest in an
unfortunate girl and in your most intimate friend?”

“ Neither of them need your pity, I assure you. The
girl will have several millions, and though she does not
reciprocate Julien’s passion, he has the wherewithal to
console himself, for he will be even richer than she is.
You will say, perhaps, that money does not give happi-
ness, but I assure you that it contributes a great deal
toward it; and you must admit that I am right.”

120

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

^^Theii Mademoiselle Monistrol does not return the
joung gentleman’s love?”

It would seem not.”

He is very good looking.”

Yes, but love, you know, comes, or does not come, as
ytlie case may be. Besides, there is no accounting for
tastes.”

^‘But how is Mademoiselle Monistrol progressing in her
efforts to discover lier father’s assassin? If 1 were in Mon-
sieur Gemozac’s place, I would have found liim long
before this.”

Very possibly. You have experience, and boldness,
and tact, while poor Julien is not the shrewdest person in
the world, AVomld you believe it, he has applied to a
private detective agency for assistance, and is paying large
amounts to scoundrels who pretend to be searching for
Zig-Zag, but who really spend their time in drinking and
carousing at my artless friend’s expense? Still, Julien
does not despair. Hope on, hope ever, is his motto. In
spite of his mother’s protests, he goes to the Boulevard
Voltaire every day, and when his lady-love refuses to see
him, he spends whole hours in gazing at the house. One
of these evenings he will go and play the guitar under his
charmer’s window, 1 expect. And the worst of it all
is that he has a rival.”

A rival?”

Yes, whom she receives on the sly, for though Julien
has been watcliing, he has not yet succeeded in getting a
glimpse of him. But how deeply this seems to interest
you!” he added, noting the flush and the expression of agi-
tation that had suddenly appeared upon his companion’s
face.

Yes, I am naturally inquisitive, and mysteries always
have a great charm for me. I think I could give Made-
moiselle Monistrol some good advice if I knew her.”

She is not likely to cross your path, so forget the poor
girl, and go and dress for a drive in the Bois. There must
be a crowd there this fine morning.

Are you particularly anxious to go to the Bois?” in-
quired the countess, suddenly regaining her wonted indif-
ference of manner.

‘^No, but there is no where else to go. Besides, if we
dine at — ”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

121

Ifc is too early to think of dinner now. Why can’t
we pay Mademoiselle Monistrol a visit instead?”

^‘Pay Mademoiselle Monistrol a visit?” repeated Fres-
nay. ^^And on what pretext, pray? You are not ac-
quainted with her, and she is not even aware of your ex-
istence.”

What difference does that make?” replied the count-
ess, coldly. You can introduce me to her.”

A fine recommendation an introduction from me
would be! 1 saw her once, and only for a few moments;
and if she hasn’t forgotten me entirely she hasn’t a very
pleasant recollection of me, for I left her rather uncere-
moniously the evening her father was murdered. Gemo-
zac hasn’t forgiven me for it yet, and he must have com-
plained of me to the young lady.”

Then this will be an excellent opportunity to make
your excuses. I will intercede for you, and she will for-
give you, I am sure.”

You are mad. There is no possible pretext under
which I could take the. Countess de Lugos to Mademoiselle
Monistrol’s liouse.”

Very well. So you consider me unworthy to be re-
ceived into the society of your friend?”

This question was so entirely unexpected that Fresnay
did not know what to say in reply.

So you refuse to do what I ask?” continued the
countess, angrily. is the first time, and it shall be

the last. Out of my way, if you please.”

And waving Fresnay aside, the decendant of the Mag-
yars seized the trapeze, climbed upon the bar, and began
to perform the nxost dangerous and difficult feats.

‘^Charming!” said Alfred, laughing heartily. ^‘You
ought to make your debut at the summer circus.”

Stand aside, if you don’t want the the bar to break
your head. I won’t be responsible for the damages.”

So you refuse to accompany me to the Bois?”

Most decidedly.”

Farewell, then, until to-morrow, most adorable count-
ess. Don’t leave your perch. Olga will escort me to my
carriage.”

Olga! I forbid you to stir.”

Poor Olga, who had just come in to inform her mistress
that her bath was in readiness, found herself in a most

122

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWi^'.

uncomfortable position. She finally decided to beat a
retreat into the next room, but as Fresnay passed her, he
managed to whisper:

Ten louis for you, if you come to see me to-morrow
morning. You can easily find time before your mistress
is up.’’

The maid answered neither yes or no, and Presnay hur-
ried out of the house.

To the club!” he said to his coachman as he re-entered
his carriage.

The club to which Alfred and Julien belonged, was not
one of the most aristocratic in the city, nor was it one of
those gambling-houses into which one can secure admis-
sion as readily as into an inn; but a member was at lib-
erty to invite a friend to dine with them, of course, and
this guest was at liberty to remain until the next morning,
and even to take a hand in any of the games of cards*

A dangerous practice this, and one there had been much
tiilk of suppressing, but as no serious trouble had yet
arisen, the committee had taken no action on the subject
thus far.

Consequently, Presnay on entering the room devoted to
baccarat, was not much surprised to see two or three new
faces at the table.

He had not come to watch the players, however, but to
find Julien Gemozac, and he failed to see him for the very
good reason that Julien — who was keeping the bank —
was sitting with his back to the door. Alfred accordingly
turned to leave the room. As he did so, he was accosted
by an acquaintance with whom he had long been on fami-
liar, though not intimate terms.

Such friendships are common in Paris. Men meet on
the boulevard, at the club, at the restaurant or at the
houses of fashionable ladies; but they do not visit each
other, and one of them may disappear any fine morning
without the other troubling himself in the least as to what
has become of him.

How is the game progressing?” inquired Presnay of
this acquaintance, ^yhose name was Daiibrac.

About as usual. The heavy players have not put in
an appearance yet, and the others have suffered so much
of late that they are a little shy. It is our friend Gemo-
zac who is acting as banker now in a modest way.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

123

That is so. I see him now. Is he winning?”
think so, for I hear the players grumbling.”

‘^Tlien I will wait until he has finished; I don’t want
to spoil his luck. But do you know that man?” he
added, designating a gentleman who had just approached
the table and thrown a bank-note upon it, for it seemed to
Fresnay that this new player strongly resembled M. Ter-
gowitz, the Countess de Lugos’s compatriot.”

‘^^JSTo, it is the first time I have ever seen him here,”
Daubrac replied, after a prolonged stare at the new-comer.

think ho must be the invited guest of some member.”

^^1 am anxious to know who brought him here, and his
name.”

That would not be a difficult matter. His name and
that of liis entertainer must be on the dinner list. I will
go and see; I don’t particularly fancy his face.”

Come back and give me the benefit of your researches,”
said Fresnay, stepping back to the card-table.

He stationed himself opposite the person who had so
deeply interested him, and began to examine him with
the closest attention. The stranger was still young, tall,
dark-complexioned and elegantly formed, while his feat-
ures resembled in a marked degree those of the Hungarian
whom Fresnay had seen talking with the pretended
Countess de Lugos at the Cafe des Ambassadeurs.

It soon became evident that this gentleman was an ex-
tremely lucky one. He had attacked the bank with a
five- hundred franc note, and meeting with success in
this venture, he doubled his stakes, and soon had four
thousand francs in front of him.

Julieii had better mind what he is about,” muttered
Alfred. ^^If this man is the Countess Stepanette’s Hun-
garian, he is not to be trusted. He is not cheating now,
because he is not dealing the cards, but just wait until he
gets hold, of them. I must warn that simpleton of a
Julien.”

He began to maneuver in such a way as to get nearer to
his friend to' whom he could not, with propriety, make
signs from a distance.

On his way to the banker, he was stopped by Daubrac,
who whispered:

‘‘ He is a Monsieur Tergowitz, and he was invited here
by that Polish major with an unpronounceable name.”

124

ZIQ-ZAG, THE CLOWE'.

^^Good! I am satisfied now/’ growled Presnay.

He reached Gemozac, and tajDped him on the shoulder
just as the Hungarian again came off victorious.

Julien turned, and, seeing his friend, rose, saying:

I will relinquish my place to any one who wants it.”

The players murmured a little, but they could not com-
23el Gemozac to go on, so after a short silence, as someone
suggested that the bank should be 2)ut up at auction, the
stranger said, quietly:

“1 will take it at a thousand louis.”

This was the height of assurance for a bird of passage,
Avho was not even a member of the club; but no protest
was made, for each one ho^Ded to retrieve his losses through
this victor who risked such a large amouilt so carelessl}^

Presnay instantly took possession of G6mozac, and
dragged him off into one corner of the room.

Do you know who just won your money?”

No; nor do I care. I play only to divert my mind,
and I did not even look at the person who cleaned out my
pockets for me.”

Well, look at him now. Do you notice a resemblance
to any one?”

It seems to me I have seen him somewhere before,
but—”

‘‘ ni tell you where you have seen him. Do you re-
member the noble foreigner you caught making signs to
my Countess de Lugos, the other evening, at the Caf6 des
Ambassadeurs?”

Very well. This man does look very much like him;
that’s a fact.”

‘^1 am almost certain that they are one and the same
person. I am satisfied, too, on another point. My
charmer has deceived me in regard to this same personage.
She assured me that he had returned home. But I find
him here, and I am almost sure that he was at her house
a little while ago.”

would have nothing more to do with that pretended
countess, if I were in your jilace. I am satified that she
is an adventuress of the very worst kind.”

think I shall keep away from her hereafter, though
I find her very amusing; but I shall probably astonish you
very much by telling you that she takes a great interest in
you — and in a friend of yours.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOW.

125

What do you mean?’’

That I have just had a real quarrel with the head-
strong* creature, because she wished to compel me to in-
troduce her to Mademoiselle Monistrol.”

That was certainly the height of impudence on her
part. I can not conceive how she ever even heard of
Mademoiselle Monistrol.”

You forget that, on the evening we met her first, I
alluded to the murder of Mademoiselle Monistrol’s father.
Our conversation must have made a deep impression upon
her, for she refers to it constantly, so constantly, indeed,
that I am almost inclined to believe that she knows the
perpetrator of the crime. If it was really the acrobat
who figured at the Gingerbread Fair who did the deed,
it would not surprise me if she has met him in her travels,
for 1 suspect that she is a member of the same profession.
I just caught her executing all sorts of dangerous feats
upon a trapeze. I think she must have belonged to a cir-
cus troupe.”

am glad to see that you no longer mistake her for a
.real countess,” said G5mozac, ironically. Still, I don’t
believe that she is in any way connected with the scoun-
drel of whom I am in search.”

What if I should discover that this handsome Mon-
sieur Tergowitz is no other than Zig-Zag himself?”

Notice his hands.”

I confess that they are white, and that the hooked
thumb is wanting. He uses them with wonderful dexter-
it}^ however. See how the cards slip through his fingers,
and they are just what he wants, for see, he gathers up
the entire stakes. The Polish major who invited him
here to dinner must have brought a professional gambler
into our midst.”

Never mind these conjectures. Ho me the favor to
tell me what you said to the Hungarian, Avhen she had the
audacitv to ask you to take her to see Mademoiselle Monis-
trol.”

I refused, of course, and" she became terribly angry;
whereupon, I left her, as I am not fond of scenes. But
her request furnished me with food for refiection. There
is some mystery here, and it will be solved to-morrow
morning, for Stepanette’s maid is coming to call on me.
A couple of hundred francs will unloose her tongue and

126

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWis.

.iiduce her to tell me all I want to know about her mis-
tress, and perhaps about Monsieur Tergowitz as well/^

CHAPTEE VIII.

In the meantime, Oourapied and his son were passing
through, a trying ordeal a long way from the Boulevard
Voltaire.

They were not dead, as Camille had too credulously
believed, nor had they rejoined Zig-Zag, as M. de Menes-
treau had asserted.

They were the inmates of a most gloomy and uncom-
fortable prison, and they had not the slightest idea how
they came there, although they distinctly remembered
their fall, and the incidents that had preceded it.

After a more or less protracted period of insensibility,
they had staggered to their feet, muddy and bruised, but
with no bones broken.

Their feet were on bare ground, their outstretched
hands encountered walls from which the dampness was
slowly oozing, and not the slightest ray of light made its
way into their dungeon.

Everything seemed to indicate that they were buried
alive, and destined to perish of starvation.

The father and son, after exchanging a few words of
condolence, attempted to explore their prison.

This was no easy matter without a light, but they
finally discovered that this subterranean dungeon was a
narrow passage, so low that Oourapied could reach the
ceiling by standing on tiptoe with his arm uplifted.

They also discovered that it was not empty, but lined
on either side with barrels and hogsheads, and numerous
other articles whose nature they were unable to discover
during this first hasty examination.

Evidently this was not the place into which they had
fallen on dashing into the corridor in pursuit of Vigoureux.
A fall of six or seven feet Avould not have rendered them
insensible, consequently they must have been brought here
before they regained consciousness, with the amiable in-
tention of leaving them here to die by inches.

Only Zig-Zag and his accomplice, Amanda, could have

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOAVH.

127

done this, and if they had refrained from dispatching^
their victims, it was only because they felt absolutely
certain that their victims could not escape.

Oourapied had certainly never heard tiie story of Ugo-
lino, who was reduced to devouring his own children, but
he realized the terrible fate that awaited him and his son,,
and bitterly regretted the part he had taken in this disas-
trous expedition.

The sole hope that remained was that the young girl
had escaped from the assassins lurking in the brick house,
and that she would have courage to return with members
of the police force to release her more unfortunate friends.

But this barely possible deliverance might be delayed,
and in the meantime they must have food.’

The prisoners were not hungry as yet,^for Brigitte had
treated them to an excellent and bountiful dinner just be-
fore they started out; but in a few hours this repast,
which seem^ likely to be their last, would be digested,
and their hunger would return. How should tliey satisfy
it? For some time poverty had familiarized them with
fasting, but one can not fast indefinitely, and death fol-
lowes long-continued abstinence.

They already began to suffer another torture, for to
live in utter darkness is terrible. Moreover, in this case,
it; increased their danger not a little, for they could not
see where they were going, and by walking about hap-
hazard, they ran a great risk of falling into another pit.

Despair took possession of Courapied’s heart, and
throwing himself on the ground, and drawing his son to
him, he awaited the approach of death. At last he fell
into a heavy slumber, which was more^Jike a stupor than
sleep, and which Georget did not disturb. He was wi^e
awake himself, so while his father slept, he racked his
brain to devise a means of escaping from their prison.

At his age, one is not easily discouraged, and something
whispered to him that his life was not to end thus; so he
began to review what had happened, and to weigh the
chances of safety that remained.

In th^ first place, where were they? This house had so
many subterranean passages and rooms that it must be
the habitual resort of a band of thievbs or counterfeiters.
The pit into which they had first fallen must be on the
other side of the wall, but where was the connecting door?

128

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOW^s^.

They bad been brought into this dungeon; and as there
was a way in, there must be a way out of it. Moreover,
had their captors intended to kill them, they would have
done it before now; so all hope was not at an end.

Georget had little hope of succor from without. Mile.

^ Monistrol, herself, would be likely to think twice before
repeating an attempt that had so nearly cost her her life,
even admitting that she was still alive; hence, Georget
would probably be obliged to depend entirely upon himself,
for he feared that excitement and his fall had affected
his father’s brain a little.

The great difficulty was the darkness and the physical
suffering it caused him, for all sorts of spots danced before
his eyes, and it sometimes seemed to him that there was a
crushing weight upon his eye-balls.

What would he not have given for a candle and a box
of matches?

Suddenly it occurred to him that while roaming about
the Place du Tr6ne that morning, in search of fragments of
gingerbread, he had found a few matches which he picked
up to carry to his father, who had no means of lighting
his pipe. The presence of Mile. Monistrol had prevented
him from giving them to his parent, but he had changed
his clothing since, so he was not sure that they were
still in his pocket. And even if he had transferred tjiem
from one garment to another, was it not more than likely
that they had dropped out when he fell into the cellar?

He fumbled in his pockets, his heart beating all the
while with indescribable anxiety, for he felt that his life
depended upon finding them.

Soon he uttered an exclamation of joy that did not
aFDuse Courapied however.

The matches were there.

Georget would not have exchanged them for diamonds
or pearls, as he drew them carefully from his pocket.

But his joy was of short duration for, on counting them,
he found that he had only nine.

With this slender stock he could hardly hope to dis-
cover the outlet of this dungeon; and in any case, he must
hoard them with the utmost care, for so many matches
burned were so many chances of salvation lost.

And would they burn, even if he should decide to use

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN. 129

them? Might not the dampness of the cellar have so
injured them as to prevent them from taking fire?

He passed his finger lightly over the end of one of them,
and had the pleasure of seeing a faint phosphorescent
light. Still, a match burns only a few seconds, and then
leaves one again in darkness, unless one has a lamp or a
candle; so, though George t had little hope of finding
either of these, he said to himself that the hogsheads he
had touched must have been placed there by some one,
and that person might have left a bit of candle there.

The chance of discovering this scrap was well worth the
sacrifice of a match; but where should he scratch this
match. The walls were damp, and the soles of Georget’s
shoes were wet, so he decided to try the barrels. He sat-
isfied himself that the wood of the first one with which he
came in contact was not 'wet; then struck his match
quickly upon a stave that seemed a little less smooth than
the others.

The phospliorous emitted a faint bluish gleam, which
was followed by the fizz of burning sulphur.

Georget experienced a feeling of delight akin to that of
a shipwrecked sailor who suddenly beholds a light-house
shining before him, and he instantly profited by the op-
portunity to casta hasty glance at the objects around him.

Fortunately, the first thing upon which his eyes fell was
a large lantern, standing on a hogshead near by. He
feared it was empty, but, on opening it, found that it
contained a long candle, which he lost no time in lighting.

Saved!” he murmured.

Then he ran to his father, and shook him violently;
whereupon Courapied sprung to his fee^with all the alac-
rity of a man who feels that he must d^end his life wit^^-
out an instant’s delay.

Seeing his father double up his fists in a threatening
manner, Georget said, soothingly

Don’t be afraid, father; it is I.”

You! I did not know you. Your face is as black as
a negro’s.”

And so is yours. You look like a coal-heaver.”

^‘Oh, I see how it is. ^Ye must have fallen into a pile
of coal-dust.”

There is none in this passage; so we have proof that

130

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWK.

we were orougbt here. Bub here is a lauteru to assist us^
ill finding our way out.’’

We have nob a moment to lose, for the candle will
not last long,” Ooiirapied replied.

They were only a few steps from the wall iliat bor-
dered the unencumbered side of the passage, but though
they examined it carefully, they saw no sign of any door.
As they passed along they noticed that the casks and
hogsheads that lined the other side of the passage were all
methodically arranged and provided with spigots. A
little further on, they again came to the pile over which
they had stumbled in the darkness, and saw that it was
composed of canvas-covered hams.

They went on until they reached a place where the pas-
sage divided. JSTot knowing which to choose, they turned
to the right, but soon encountered an unexpected obstacle
in the shape of a deep excavation, into which they would
certainly have fallen had it not been for the lantern which
Georget carried, but which gave too dim alight to enable
them to see whether the gallery extended beyond this
trench.

Disheartened by this discovery, they retraced their
steps, and entered the other passage, only to find it like-
wise impassable, it being completely barricaded by a sub-
stantial stone wall.

There is no outlet anywhere,” murmured Courapied,
disconsolately.

^‘Unless above our heads,” said the thoughtful Georgeb.

They looked up, but could see no sign of daylight; then,
without stopping to ask if it might not be dark without,
they returned to the place from which they started.

‘‘ There is one ^comfort,” said Georget, pointing to the
bams and hogsheads, we shall not perish of hunger or
thirst. But we must pub out the lantern.”

Put out the lantern,” exclaimed Courapied. ^^Are
you mad, boy? What will become of us without a light?’^

"'^But if we let it burn, father,” said Georget timidly,

it will last only about three liours, and after that — ”

We shall not be able to see, it is true; but if you put
it out how will you light it again?”

I had nine matches in my pocket. I have eight now,
so for eight days we can have a light eight or ten minutes
at a time — just long enough for us to eat.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH. 131

A fine prospect, truly! We might as well die and be
clone with it.’^

You forget, father, that some one is almost sure to
come down into the cellar in the course of a week/’

Some one! Yes. Zig-Zag, probably, to see if we are
dead.”

‘‘ No, father, not Zig-Zag; but the persons who stored
these goods here; so we must try to keep alive until they
come.”

^^That is true. You are right, child. But as we have
a light now, let us profit by it, and fix ourselves more
comfortably/^

‘‘Very well, father, I will begin by making our beds.
There is no necessity for us to lie on the damp ground
any longer.”

“ Make our beds! and out of what, pray?”

“ Out of hams, of course. Just see.”

And Georget attacking the huge pile of American hams,
proceeded to spread them out upon the ground in such
a way as to form a large and small bed at the head of
which he placed several more hams to take the place of
pillows.

“ The mattresses are a Trifle hard, but they are better
than none,” he remarked.

‘‘ You certainly are an ingenious shaver,” said his father,
admiringly.

“ And I have taken care to select a place where we shall
be near our larder,” added Georget. “ We shall only have
to reach out our hands to take a bit of pork or to pull the
spigot from a hogshead.”

“ But how about bread?”

“ We must manage to dispense with that.”

“ But the casks are empty, perhaps.”

“ Oh, no; I tapped on them, and they sound full.”

“But what do they contain? Certainly not water.
Smugglers would not be likely to hoard up that.”

“But, father, you don’t like water, so you won’t be
sorry if this should prove to be wine.”

“ Try a little, just to see.”

Georget pulled the spigot from the barrel nearest him,
and allowed a little of the liquid to run into the palm of
his hand.

132

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWK.

'^Ugb! how strong it is!” he exclaimed, as the fiery fluid
nearly strangled him.

^‘It is brandy,” growled Courapied. ^MVe can’t stand
it long if one don’t And anything else to drink.”

I think I’ll use a little of it to wash my face,” replied
Georget. don’t care to remain a negro any longer,”

Oouxapied followed his example, availing himself, of
course, of the opportunity to taste the liquor, which proved
to be almost pure alcohol.

We had better let this stuff alone,” he growled; ‘‘for
unless we should be fortunate enough to And a spring, wo
shall soon be burned alive.”

“ We must be careful, too, about the light,” added
Georget; “ for so much liquor has soaked into the ground
while we have been making our toilet, that a spark might
start quite a conflagration.”

“Are you hungry, father?”

“No, not yet.”

“ No matter. I am going to cut two or three slices of
ham. I have my knife in my pocket, fortunately.”

In rummaging about he had found an old tin can, which
he now proceeded to partially All.

“ The table is set; we will breakfast whenever you
please,” he remarked, when these preparations were com-
pleted.

“ That will not be very soon, I think. I haven’t much
appetite. What time do you suppose it is?”

“I don’t know. It could not have been far from mid-
night wlien we fell into the cellar; but I have no idea how
long we remained unconscious.”

“ Nor have I. All I know is that if you had not woke
me, I should be asleep still. In fact, I feel sleepy now.”

“ So do I, father, and there is nothing to prevent us
from indulging in a nap. After we have had a good sleep
we shall perhaps know better what to do.”

Courapied, nothing loath, stretched himself out upon his
novel couch, and was soon fast asleep.

Before following his father’s example Georget placed
his eight precious matches inside the lantern, to protect
them from dampness, blew out the candle, and set it be-
side his hastily improvised couch.

Their slumber was^ a prolonged one, and yet Georget
woke before his father. Though not a little hungry, ho

ZIG-ZAG;, THE CLOWiq-. 13S

did not care to breakfast alone; so he sat and waited for
Conrapied to give some sign of waking.

Suddenly he fancied that he heard a heavy object strike
the other side of the wall, but the sound was so indistinct
that Georget asked himself if he were not the victim of an
illusion; for the strongly built wall was not likely to be a
very good conductor of sound.

The lad rose, however, and crawling to the place from
which the sound had seemed to proceed, he applied his
ear to the wall and listened with breathless attention.

Hearing nothing, he shouted with all his might, but
with no other result than arousing his father.

How great would have been their despair had they
known that the hollow sound was produced by the’fall of
the ladder which M. deMenestreau had used in exploring
the cellar, and that their benefactress, Camille Monistrol^
was in the passage, almost directly over their heads, ready
to rescue them if tliey were still there.

^MVhat is it, my boy?’’ asked Conrapied.

^‘Hothing, father,” replied Georget. I thought some
one was tearing down the wall to free us, but I was mis-
taken.”

There is no hope for us, my dear child,” sighed the
old clown.

‘‘Then they must have killed the young lady, for I am
sure that she would not abandon us.”

“ I don’t see why you think so. I, for my part, am
sorry enough that I got myself into this scrape on her ac-
count; and if I ever get out of here alive, I shall tell her
so pretty plainly. I know nothing at all about . her, for I
never even saw her before she came to the fairgrounds in
search of me.' She says that Zig-Zag killed her father,
but nobody knows whether she is telling the truth ornot.’^

“Oh, father, why should you think that she had any
idea of deceiving us? She risked her own life, just as we
did, and it was no fault of hers that the dog dragged us
into the passage.”

“ I lose all patience with you when you depend on her.
Hold your tongue, and light the lantern. I want some-
thing to eat.”

The first thing Georget did after lighting the candle
was to measure it off into eight equal parts which he

134

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

marked wifch his finger-nail, inserting in the first notch a
large pin that he had picked up in Brigitte’s kitchen.

What are you doing that for?” asked Courapied, sul-
lenly.

So we shall not burn too much at a time. If we don’t
go beyond these marks, we shall be sure of having a light
at our disposal until the end of the week,” replied
Georget, almost gayly.

It will, perhaps, last longer than we shall,” was the
gloomy reply.

Georget offered his father the most appetizing slice of
ham, though that is not saying much, for this meat from
over the sea lacked freshness, so much so, indeed, that
the prisoners could eat only a few mouthfuls, and Coura-
pied took a large draught of liquor, to take the taste out
of his mouth.

This led to another draught, and the rej^ast would have
been a prolonged one had not the dropping of the pin
warned Georget that it ^vastime to extinguish the candle.

He did so without sounding the curfew, that is, with-
out warning his father, who gave vent to his disapproba-
tion in several vigorous oaths, for the lad had realized al-
most from the very first that he could not depend upon
his parent’s co-operation in effecting their escape from the
cellar.

The clown had grown old in a profession that demora-
lizes even those who possess the best of principles; and
after making a fool of himself for the public, he seldom
failed to go and quench his thirst at the nearest drinking-
saloon. In this way he had acquired a great fondness for
alcoholic drinks, and without being what one calls an habit-
ual drunkard, he was generally in a state of i)artial intox-
ication, and when in that condition he was of no use
whatever.

The lad, knowing this, resolved to dispense withCour-
apied’s assistance entirely, and so began to exj^loic their
dungeon without him. He accustomed himself to grop-
ing around in the darkness, but unfortunately these at-
tempts resulted in no discovery that would aid in his
plans of escape.

Still, it seemed to him that there must be an opening
in the ceiling at the end of the closed passage, for he
noticed there a draught of fresh air which must come from

■ ' ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWIT. ' 135

above, but though he strained his eyes to the utmost, he
could discern no ray of light.

Then a frightful life began for him. Courapied slept
all the time, waking occasionally, but only to drink again,
and poor Georget, who drank nothing, sutfered terribly
from thirst.

Time passed without his being able to form any idea of
the number of hours and days that dragged by so monot-
onously, for in the inky darkness he was, of course, ut-
terly unable to distinguish day from night. The lad
lighted his lantern only to get food for his father, who
ate almost nothing, but who had no difficulty in finding
the spigot and filling his can even in the darkness.

This misery must inevitably result in death unless the
smugglers or the dealers in stolen goods should take it
into their heads to visit the cellar in which their merchan-
dise was concealed.

Georget thought that if they came at all it would be by
the opening, whose existence he suspected, so he dragged
himself again and again to the end of the gallery, in the
vain hope of seeing them appear. But these painful
efforts only fatigued and discouraged him still more.

At last he experienced a pleasure he had ceased to ex-
pect.

He heard the barking of a dog, and having been cut off
from the world so long, the sound astonished him as much
as the foot-print on the sand of his desert island aston-
ished Kobinson Crusoe. This sound indicated the close
proximity of a living creature, and as Georget could hear
it distinctly, there must be some communication — proba-
bly by means of an open shaft or well — between this pas-
sage and the surface of the earth.

The animal could not be far from the mouth of the
shaft, and the thought that it might be the terrible Vigour-
eux lessened Georget’s delight very considerably,

^‘Zig-Zag may have left him to guard the only place of
egress, and to devour us if we attempt to leave the cellar,’’
the boy said to himself. Still, I would rather be de-
voured by him than die of hunger. But I see no open-
ing, and even if I did, I should be unable to climb to it.”

The barking finally ceased, but Georget, after listening
awhile, heard the hollow rumbling of distant thunder. A

136

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWK.

storm was coming up, for the peals became more and more
distinct.

Georget stood with his eyes uplifted, breathlessly await-
ing a flash of lightning. It came at last, and by its fleet-
ing light Georget caught sight of a sort of chimney that
extended from the roof of the passage to the surface of the
plain, and it seemed to him that this chimney was narrow
enough for one to climb it by clinging to the sides, as the
chimney-sweeps do. But it began six or seven feet from
the floor of the passage, and the child could devise no way
of reaching it. The discovery of this outlet was none the
less precious, however, and Georget firmly resolved to over-
come the obstacles that now prevented him from making
his escape in that way.

He soon had another and equally agreeable surprise.
He felt several big drops of rain upon his forehead. The
clouds had broken, and the rain was falling with suffi-
cient violence to reach the cellar by way of this shaft,
which consequently could not be very deep.

This Water was an inestimable blessing to Georget, who
was perishing of thirst, so he hastened back to his father’s
side in search of the tin can. When he returned to the
foot of the shaft, the storm had turned into a deluge,
and it took him only a few minutes to fill and drain tiie
can which held a little more than a pint. Then he filled
it again, this time for his father.

The refreshing draught lent Georget new energy, and
he felt ready to brave any danger to save himself and his
father, who certainly stood in great need of assistance.
He understood now why he had never discovered the ex-
istence of this shaft before. All his visits to the passage
into which it opened, must have been made at night, and
when the stars were concealed by clouds.

He saw, too, :hat this shaft could be used only by indi-
viduals, as it was much too small for the passage of boxes
<Jr barrels. Consequently, there must be some other door
which communicated with the cellar into which the father *
and son had first fallen. There was such a door, unques-
tionably, but it was so skillfully concealed that it seemed
useless to look for it.

But Zig-Zag knew where it was, for he had opened it
to place his victims into a less accessible dungeon.

The great difficulty was to reach the opening in the

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOAVH.

137

roof of the passage, and it soon occurred to Georget tliat
he might make a rough step-ladder by piling several casks
one above the other. He had noticed that three or four
were empty, so it would be an easy matter to move themy
and he resolved to perform this preparatory task without
delay. Oourapied being in no condition to assist him, it
was useless to wake him before daybreak.

The clouds were passing over, and the rain had ceased
to fall. ■ Georget retraced his steps, bearing the can of
water, and soon reached the place where his father was
still sleeping on his couch of hams. He placed the cau
within the sleeper’s reach; then in order to work mor<^
surely, he decided, sorely against his will, to light his
•candle.

He had but one match left, and he greatly disliked tha
idea of using that, for if this plan of escape should fail,
he would be condemned to perpetual darkness. There
seemed to be no alternative but to make the venture, how-
ever.

He found the empty casks without any difficulty, and
selecting the one that seemed the strongest he proceeded
to roll it to the foot of the shaft.

After he had climbed upon it, he fancied that the sky
was less black, and tliat the first gray light of early dawn
was beginning to steal over it.

Just then, he heard his father call him by name; and
leaping from the cask, he ran to his parent only to find
him sitting up in bed and swearing like a trooper.

What have you put in this?” he yelled, shaking the

can,

AYater, father, I brought it to you. Drink it. I have
had some already.”

The intoxicated man threw the water straight in the
boy’s face, saying with an oatli:

^‘Take your water. I want* brandy. Pull out the
spigot.”

'^But, father, you must get up now. I have found a
way out of this dungeon.”

Go, then. I am going to stay by the barrel, and as
you refuse to wait on me, I will wait on myself.”

He stretched out his hand, seized the spigot, and as^he
liquid gushed out, tried to fill his can, but as he did so
he overturned the lantern with its lighted candle.

138

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

Georget sprung forward to pick it up, but he was too
late. The earth being saturated A\ith the liquid, blazed
up like a pile of sulphur and the flames compelled the
brave child to draw back. He was not injured, but Coura-
pied, who was as thoroughly saturated as the ground, was
almost instantly enveloped in flames.

The poor wretch writhed and shrieked in his agony, and
his son vainly attempted to tear off his burning gar-
ments. He would perhaps have succeeded, but the over-
heated barrel exploded, and the spirits it contained burst
from it in a torrent of flame that instantly engulfed Coura-
])ied.

Georget, though he had the presence of mind to spring
back, was badly burned, and had barely time to save him-
self.

His father was lost. The flames and smoke already
filled the cellar, and the other casks would soon take fire,
so wdiat good would it do for him to remain in this fur-
nace. The instinct of self-preservation made him turn
and flee, pursued by a dense smoke that nearly strangled
him.

He could not draw a breath until after he had passed
the place where the passage divided, nor could he have re-
mained there many minutes without perishing of suffoca-
tion, for the fire was approaching with frightful rapidity.
He soon reached the foot of the shaft, however, and leaped
upon the cask. Looking up he now saw not only the light
of day, but a number of iron bars projecting from one side
of the shaft, and forming a very trustworthy ladder.

The lowest of these bars was fully a yard above George t’s
head, but lie was as supple as an eel and as nimble as a
goat. Making a vigorous spring he seized the first iron
bar with one hand, and raising himself by that, liigh
enough to reach the one above it, he continued in this
way until his feet found a place of support.

The rest of the ascent would have been only play for a
boy who had practiced gymnastics ever since he was four
years old had it not been for the fact that the smoke from
the cellar had now reached the shaft, and forced upward
by the draught, was now ascending in dense clouds that
completely enveloped poor Georget. He persevered, how-
ever, though he was completely blinded by the smoke, but
just as he began to feel confident that the jiainful ascent

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

139

was nearly completed his head came in contact with an
obstacle. The mouth of the shaft was covered with an
iron grating.

This time Georget’s courage deserted him, and he gave
himself up for lost. The smoke was becoming more and
more dense around him, and the heat more and more in-
tolerable. Indeed the poor lad' found himself in much
the same position as a man seated on the top of a chimney
in which a hot fire had been suddenly started.

He pushed against the grating with all his might, first
with his head, then with his shoulder, and fancied that it
yielded a little.

Just as he summoned up all his strength for a final
effort, he heard the same loud barking that had startled
him before; but this time the dog’s nose was so close
to the grating that Georget could feel his hot breath.

It is Vigoureux! I am lost!” he murmured.

Feeling that there was little choice between being torn
in pieces by this ferocious animal and perishing of suffo-
cation in the cellar, he was on the point of letting go his
hold on the bars, when he was stunned by the noise of a
frightful explosion, which, at the same instant, expelled
him from the shaft with irresistible force.

Georget, the grating, and the dog were all lifted high
in the air at the same time. Indeed, the eruption of a
volcano could hardly have produced more astounding re-
suits than this outburst from the cellar, in which at least
eighteen casks of brandy had exploded almost simultane-
ously.

The shaft by which the poor lad had just made his wa7
to the surface of the plain was now belching forth flames
and dense clouds of black smoke; the earth still trembled,,
and one of the walls of the brick house had fallen.

The rising sun looked down upon a scene of desolation,,
and many people could be seen hastening to the spot.

When Georget regained his senses, there were several
men standing around him, among them two government
employees, who were on their way to the Porte Saint-
Ouen when the explosion took place.

In the distance might be seen the dog, running at the
top of his speed, though no one evinced any inclination to
pursue him.

Georget’s first thought was of his father.

140

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

My father! save my father!” he exclaimed.

Where is he?” asked an old neighbor.

Down there in the cellar,”

And how came lie in tlie cellar?”

‘‘He fell into it when I did.”

“But what have you set fire to down there?” asked the
rag-picker. “You are as brown as a roasted pig.”

“ Some casks of brandy caught fire. It was an accident.
But pray let me go to my fatlier’s assistance.”

“Ah, ha!” exclaimed one of the officials, who happened
to be connected with the department of internal revenue,
“we must look into this matter!”

He whispered a few words to his companion, who has-
tened off in the direction of the barracks recently erected
on the Boulevard Bessieres.

In the meantime several other persons had come up,
among them Father Villard, the proprietor of the famous
establishment known as the Tom beau des Lapins, who,
on hearing the particulars, exclaimed:

“ This must have been going on some time. There has
been a light in the brick house every night for a week or
more. It is a good thing this happened, as it will put a stop
to the rascality. But to think that you revenue men
shouldn’t have discovered and broken up this ring long
ago, especially as the scoundrel’s store-house was not five
hundred yards from the fortifications.”

“It is not too late now, perhaps,” growled the official.

And violently shaking the weeping Georgot, he said,
savagely: ^

“ Come, you young rascal, take me to the entrance of
the cellar in which you left your father.”

“ Yes, yes, gladly,” sobbed the boy.

This was more easily said than done, however. The
mouth of the smoking shaft was close to the pile of stones
where Camille and her friends had paused to deliberate
before trying to force their way into the house; conse-
quently, the subterranean passage was on the side nearest
to the Route de la Revolte; but all trace of the entrance
to the corridor in which Courapied and his son met with
their accident had been destroyed when the house-wall was
demolished by the explosion.

“ There it is,” wailed George t, pointing to a pile of
debris.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

141

Don’t try to play the fool! Why don’t yon say that
yon won’t tell," and be done with it? You’ll have to speak
by and by, though, when you’ll find yonrself in prison.”

‘‘In prison? I? Wli}^ I have done nothing wrong.”

“ Oh, we’ll let yon otf after yon’ve told ns where the
rest of the crowd are. Yon can’t make me1)elieYe that
yon are not one of the gang.”

“ He acted as spy for the rascals, of course,” said Father
Yillard.

“Yes, yes. To prison with hini!” cried the others.

“ I am willing to go with yon wherever yon wdsh,” said
Georget; “bnt won’t somebody go to my father’s assist-
ance? Yon certainly won’t let a man die without trying
to save him.”

“ If he is down there in the cellar, he was burned np
long ago,” remarked one of the by-standers.

“I would willingly go down, bnt I have no lantern,”
said a rag-picker.

He approached the opening, as he spoke, bnt the smoke
and a sickening odor of burning flesh made him recoil.

“It is too late,” he said, kindly, turning to Georget.

The boy burst into a passionate flt of sobbing. He
realized that his father was dead. It mattered little what
became of him now.

“What is your name?” asked the revenue officer,
brusquely.

“ Georget Conrapied.”

“An odd name. What do yon do for a living?”

“He’s a waiter in a restaurant,” remarked one of the
by*standers. “That is very evident. Don’t you see the
buttons on his jacket?”

“No,” murmured Georget, “I belonged to a traveling
troupe.”

“ A troupe of what?”

“My father and I performed at fairs.”

“ That may be true. It seems to me that I did see the
lad at the gingerbread fair.”

“Yes, we were there.”

“Tliat is not the question, however,” said the official.

Where do yon live?”

“ AVe did sleep hi our employer’s wagon — ”

“And now?”

“ ^Ye have no home. Our manager failed, and we did

142

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWiT.

not know what was going to become of us when we fell
into the cellar.’’

You needn’t try to deceive me, you young rascal.
Your jig is up. I am going to walk you straight off to
the station-house. We’ll see if any one appears to claim
you,”

Georget had Camille Monistrol’s name upon his lips, but
his youthful shrewdness warned him that the lady who
had treated him so kindly would not like to be mixed up
in such an affair, so he was silent.

Two gendarmes came up, led by the government offi-
cial, and Georget resolved to go to prison rather than
mention Mile. Monistrol’s name.

CHAPTER IX.

Every one knows that obstacles only increase a lover’s'
ardor. This was certainly true in Julien Gemozac’s case.
He was madly in love, and the more coldly Camille
Monistrol treated him, the more passionately he adored
her, and the more persistent he became in his attentions
to a young lady who not only received them with indif-
ference, but who finally refused to even see him when he
called.

All his friend Fresnay’s counsels availed him nothing,
and the reproaches of his unhappy mother, and the re-
monstrances of his father, proved equally futile.

The great iron manufacturer treated the matter much
more coolly than his wife did, however. Being essentially
a business man, he said to himself that Mile. Monistrol
would soon be the possessor of a large fortune, and conse-
quently a very desirable wife for his son, more especially
as the immense income which was sure to accrue from
her father’s valuable invention would thus be kept in the
famil}\

What he feared most, was that Julien, exasperated by
Camille’s refusals to see him, would plunge into the wild-
est dissipation. Indeed, he even suspected that this was
already the case.

He no longer made his appearance at their mid-day
meal, but whether he was sleeping after a night spent at
the baccarat- table, or he had gone out early to hang about

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWJN’. 143

the house of his divinity, in the hope of catching a
glimpse of lier, liis father was unable to say.

Things had come to such a pass that M. G6mozac
wisely concluded it was time for liim to interfere. He
could not bear the idea of treating Julien like a refractory
child one puts on bread and water; or, in other words, to
cut off his allowance, and refuse him the money he spent
so recklessly; besides, he realized that paternal admoni-
tions would have no effect upon this headstrong young
man, and he finally decided that the best thing he could
do would be to appeal to the cause of all this trouble: the
lady herself.

She had not paid a visit to his house since her difficulty
with his wife, so he resolved to call on her. He could
not believe that she had acted badly, nor could he believe
that she had taken a dislike to a youth so attractive in
every respect. On the contrary, he imputed her apparent
coldness and indifference to either shyness or coquetry*
Perhaps, too, Mme.^Gemozac had wounded her pride in
some way. He, for his part, felt confident of his ability'
to make her listen to reason.

There were other reasons that made him particularly
desirous of an immediate interview.

Camille was not of age, nor had she any near relative
living. Hence it was necessary for her either to choose a
guardian or take the necessary steps to secure her legal
independence. M. Gemozac was strongly in favor of
the latter course. Mile. Monistrol would soon have im-
portant business matters to transact with her father’s part-
ner, deeds to sign, etc,, etc. Consequently, it would be
advisable to place her in a position to manage her fortune
herself, and M. Gemozac wished to advise her to adopt this
course, and to offer to take the necessary steps to effect
such an arrangement.

Besides, would not this be the best way to prove to her
that he liad no intention of interfering with her, or of
dictating to her in her choice of a husband?

So, one fine day, without consulting his wife, or saying
anything to his son, he left the house at about the hour
he usually started for his office, but drove to the modest
cottage on the Boulevard Voltaire, instead.

On alighting from his carriage, he looked around for a

144

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

bell to announce his arrival, but seeing none, he tried the
gate, and found it iinloeked.

Once in the court-yard, he examined the house, and
made a grimace on perceiving that it was little or no
better than a porter’s lodge.

He walked toward the dwelling, thinking the sound of.
his footsteps would attract the attention of a servant, but
no one appeared, and the whole house wore a deserted air.

This reminds me of the' Palace of the Sleeping
Beauty,” the visitor said to himself. ‘^The girl has per-
haps gone out. But the famous nurse, who was to guard
her so faithfully, what has become of her? Perhaps her
young mistress has taken her out with her, a very sensible
precaution, for the child is too pretty to go about Paris
alone.”

He again advanced, but not knowing exactly where to
find the entrance to this deserted house, he decided to
walk around it and look for a door.

He instinctively turned to the rigl^t, and soon discov-
ered it, but was surprised to find it standing wide open.

The deuce!” he murmured, ^^Mademoiselle Monistrol
must be very careless to leave her house at the mercy of the
first rascal who happens to come along, especially after
the misfortune that lately befell. her.”

Just then, it seemed to him that he heard talking, and
on listening more attentively, he distinctly heard two
voices, one certainly that of a man.

Oh, ho!” M. Gemozac said to himself, ^^my visit
seems to be rather inopportune. The gentleman 1 hear
talking must be Julien’s rival — his favored rival, the
young man my wife so narrowly escaped meeting the day
she called here last. Matters have gone further than I
supposed, and I begin to think poor Julien might as well
retire from the field. Still, I shall not be sorry to have a
look at this suitor.”

Accordingly, he walked boldly up the steps, taking care
to make as mucli noise as possible, and to clear his throat
two or three times.

They heard him, for the talkers suddenly became silent,
and the scraping of chairs on the bare floor announced
that they were rising.

Almost immediately. Mile. Monistrol made her ap-

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWJISr.

145

pearance, dressed as if she bad just come in from a walk and
had not taken time to remove her hat.

It is I, my dear child/’ cried M. Gemozac. ^^You
were not expecting to see me, I am sure.”

•^No, sir,” replied Camille, without the slightest em-
barrassment. But you are, and ever will be, welcome
here.”

Then you are sure I do not disturb you? I imagine,
though, that you are not alone.”

That is true; but I shall be very happy to introduce
you to a visitor who has just dropped in. Pray come in,
sir.”

Gemozac required no urging, but immediately followed
Mile. Monistrol into the dining-room where he found him-
self face to face with a very good-looking gentleman who
was standing there, hat in hand.

Monsieur George de Menestreau,” said Camille,
quietly.

On hearing this name, Julien’s father started and began
to scrutinize the gentleman with rather annoying persist-
ency. His son had informed him that Mile. Monistrol
was receiving the visits of a young gentleman, but he had
not told him the gentleman’s name, though Camille had
taken no pains to conceal it from him.

Excuse me, sir,” said M. Gemozac, without giving
the young girl time to complete the introduction, ^^but
are you not from Aveyron?”

Yes, sir. To whom have I the honor of speaking?”

I am Pierre G6mozac, and I knew your father well.
He was the owner of a foundry in that country and he
sold me excellent iron. He was one of the most honorable
of men. He is dead, I am told.”

‘‘Yes, he died several years ago.”

“ I was aware that he had a son, and I have always
wondered why this son did not continue the business.”

“ I had not the slightest taste for it, but was, on the
contrary, passionately fond of traveling. Having the
means to gratify this taste, I left France for Ariif rica,
where I remained a long time. Since then, 1 have been in
China and Japan, and have quite recently returned to
France after making a trip around the world.”

“ You never told me that you had been such a traveler/
murmured Camille.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

146

^^Aiidlhave been misinformed/’ added M. ^mozac.

I — pardon my frankness, thought that Menestreaii died
a ruined man, and that his son had disappeared.”

My fatlier did, in fact, meet with reverses, but I in-
herited property from my motiier — and to travel, is not to
disappear,” replied George dryly. I am, however, very
happy to meet you, sir, the more happy from the fact that
I have been intending to call on you for some time.”

May I ask why?”

Not to ask you to give me Mademoiselle MonistroFs
hand in marriage, as you are neither her relative nor guard-
ian, but to ask your apjiroval. I certainly owe this act
of deference to the generous man who came to her father’s
assistance, and who has since been her friend and pro-
tector.”

Gemozac looked inquiringly at Camille, who instantly
said:

^^It was I, sir, who advised Monsieur de Menestreau to
show you this token of respect, and as chance has brought
us together, permit me to broach a rather delicate subject.
Your son has probably spoken to you of a proposal that
certainly does me infinite honor, but — ”

Oh, yes, and I have not the slightest objection to it.
His mother is rather opposed to it, but she will soon get
over that, and 1 will not conceal from you the fact that
you will overwhelm my son with despair by marrying Mon-
sieur de Menestreau.

Still, you are free, my dear Camille, and I have no
right to blame you for following the dictates of your own
heart. I came here to-day, indeed, for the express pur-
pose of urging you to take such steps as will make you
absolute mistress of your own actions and of your fortune.
My indebtedness to you shall be settled every year or
every six months, as you may prefer, and you need main-
tain with me and mine only such relations as you please.”

They can be only of the most affectionate nature,” re-
plied Camille, warmly, ^‘as you approve my choice.”

I can hardly say that. Monsieur de Menestreau is the
son of a very honorable man, and I have no reason to
doubt that he has inherited his father’s virtues. Still, I
trust he will take no offense if I make some inquiries in
regard to him in the home in which his earlier years were
spent.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

147

On hearing this announcement, which sounded not un-
like a threat, George de Menestrean bit his lips, but the
next instant he replied with unruffled calmness:

You will do quite right to make such inquiries, sir*
I fear I am well-nigh forgotten in my old home, but I
flatter myself that I have left no unpleasant memories
there.

I am quite sure you have not,” said M. Gemozac,
thinking the contrary all the while, and secretlyresolving
to write to one of his correspondents in Aveyron that
very day.

He recollected having heard a vague rumor that tlie
elder Menestrean had been ruined by his son, who had
turned out very badly; but so many years had elapsed
since the former gentleman’s death thatM. Gemozac would
not trust to his memory.

He felt sure ho should have plenty of time to make the
necessary inquiries before Camille bound herself irrev-
ocably. One can not marry in France without giving
the authorities due notice of one’s intentions. These
formalities take a fortnight at the very least, and he
would not need more than four or five days to obtain a
reply from Eodez or Hecazeville.

I have made you a poor return for all your kindness,’^
faltered poor Camille; ‘‘ but I assure you that I am deeply
grateful for all you have done for me. Say to your son
that had my heart been free — ”

^MVhich it is not, unfortunately,” interrupted M.
Gemozac in a slightly ironical tone. ^^Julien will have
to console himself as best he can, and perhaps everything
will turn out for the best, after all. But it seems to me
that you had sworn to marry only the man wiio should
succeed in finding your father’s murderer. I am well
aware that Jnlien has not fulfilled these conditions.
Monsieur de Menestrean has doubtless been more fort-
unate, and the assassin has been arrested or is about to
be?”

Alas! no. I even begin to fear that he never will be.
Monsieur de Menestrean has done everything in his
power. He failed, it is true, but he saved my life.”

‘‘Indeed! That being the case, I can not marvel at
your desire to reward him. How many perils seem to

148 ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

environ youi Did tlie same man that killed your father
try to kill you?”

Not exactly. I heard that he was hiding in an old
house near the Porte Saint-Ouen, and — ”

It was probably Monsieur de Menestrean who im-
parted this valuable information.”

^‘No, it was a poor clown who was a member of the
same troupe to which Zig-Zag belonged. So I started out
to find him one evening in company with this clown and
his son. They never returned — ”

^MVhat! did Zig-Zag exterminate them, too? Why!
he must be a regular monster.”

do not know. They disappeared, or rather, they
fell into an open trap-door in the hall of the house, and I
very narrowly escaped sharing the same fate. I did es-
cape it, however, and fled; but on the lonely plain upon
which the house stands I was attacked by two of the
scoundrels who haunt the suburbs of Paris, and Heaven
only knows what would have become of me had not Mon-
sieur de Menestrean rescued me from tlieir clutches at the
peril of his life.”

Monsieur de Menestreau’s appearance just at the
critical moment was truly providental. What a romance
y^our adventures would make!”

They are only too real,” murmured Camille.

I do not doubt it, but the romance should have a fit-
ting denouement. You should have visited this brigand’s
den in broad daylight.”

did not fail to do so, sir. Monsieur de Menestrean
accompanied me. He very kindly explored the cellar into
which my unfortunate guides had fallen, but their bodies
were not there.”

Consequently they are not dead. If I were in your
place, mademoiselle, I should beg Monsieur de Menestreau
to call the attention of the prefet of police to the house in
which so many wonderful things occur. What kind of a
looking house is it?”

It is a brick house — a red brick house. Everybody in
that neighborhood knows it.”

A red brick house! How strange! I very rarely read
the ^ locals,’ but this morning my eyes happened to fall on
one. It seems that yesterday a red brick house on the
Plaine Saint-Denis, very near the Eoute de la Eevolte, an

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWIs.

149

unoccupied brick house, was nearly demolished hy an ex-
plosion. It appears that the cellar was used as a store-
house hy a gang of scoundrels who were leagued together
to defraud the government, and that it was filled with
casks of brandy that caught fire, nobody knows how.’’

‘^Good heavens! can it be —

There were two victims, the paper stated — a man who
was buried alive in the cellar, and a lad who escaped from
it, though not until after he had sustained quite serious,
injuries.”

^^And what became of him?” asked Mile. Monistrol,
eagerly.

The paper did not say, but he was probably taken to a
hospital. Still, this story can have no connection with
yours, and I hardly know why I related it. If it has in-
terested you, you will have no difficulty in learning all the
particulars of the affair. But I must leave you now.
Business matters require my attention. I only ran away
from my office for a few moments to talk wiLli you about
your affairs. Vfe now understand each other thoroughly,
and hoping to see you soon again, I will leave you now
with your betrothed. I have the honor to bid you good-
morning, sir.”

M. de Menestreau bowed coldly, and the other gentle-
man withdrew without shaking hands with Camille, who
was not much affected by the change in his manner.

‘‘ This puts an end to a most embarrassing situation,”
she remarked. I have told him the plain truth in re-
gard to my feelings, and I am glad of it. But what do
you think of the strange story we just heard?”

I don’t believe a word of it. It is doubtless a pure
fabrication. But even if there should be some foundation
for it, there can be no connection between it and your ex-
pedition with Zig-Zag’s friends. They are probably along
way from the brick house before this time. But I have a
piece of bad new's for you — at least, bad for me. I am
going away this evening.”

Going away?”

Yes, mademoiselle. I am summoned to England by
a friend who requires my services in a very important
matter.”

And you have deferred telling me of your intended

150 ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

departure until this late hour?’^ said Camille, reproach-
fully.

I did not know it myself yesterday. The letter from
London arrived only this morning. I dared not call be-
fore the hour you had appointed, and I was about to tell
you of the fact when Monsieur G-6mozac happened in. I
did not care to announce my intentions while he was here,
for I thought he migiit fancy that I was anxious to leave
France before his friends could enlighten him in regard to
me.’’

What an absurd idea!”

Didn’t you notice that he went away angry? Had he
contented himself with venting his displeasure upon me,
I should not have cared; but he treated you coldly, even
rudely, and it is my duty to warn you that you can place
no further dependence upon him. He will never forgive
you for having preferred me to his son, and he will do all
he can to injure me.”

That makes no difference; my feelings will not change.
Neither calumny nor absence will make me forget that we
belong to each other.”

If I were sure of that, I should go away with a much •
lighter heart.”

Is it possible that you doubt me? What have I done
to excite such distrust on your part? and what must I do
to convince you that I will keep my promise? If the law
permitted it, I would marry you to-morrow.”

^^But the law prevents it, and the formalities to be ob-
served are many and tedious. Would that we were in
England. There we should only have to present ourselves
before a Protestant clergyman, and to declare to him,
upon oath, that there was no legal obstacle to our mar-
riage. If we did that, he would marry us forthwith.
But, unfortunately, in this country the law is different;
and, before a priest and a mayor will have the right to
unite us, my enemies will have time to alienate you from
me.”

‘^They would not succeed in doing that; but, to reas-
sure you, I am willins: to go to England and marry vou
there.”

You would do that! You would brave prejudice and
slander! You would not be afraid to offend these Gemo-

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH. 151

zacs. even though the father has your fortune in his
hands?'’

would willingly sacrifice my fortune to insure my
life-long happiness; but nothing can take it from me. I
have found among my father’s papers an act of copartner-
ship signed by Monsieur Gemozac. Besides, whatever the
nature of my future relations with him and his family may
be, I feel sure that Monsieur Gemozac would never inten-
tionally defraud me of a single penny.”

^‘And you are willing to leave France with me this
evening?”

^'No, my dearest. Though I am very independent, I
must show a certain amount of respect for public opinion.
People would be sure to say that I had eloped with you,
and 1 do not intend to give them a chance to say that.
I will join you in England. Brigitte shall be my travel-
ing companion; and when I return to France, it will be
as your lawful wife. But I will not go until after I have
learned all the particulars of the strange affair Monsieur
Gemozac spoke of just now. Something tells me that the
lad saved was the son of Zig-Zag’s enemy, that very Georget
of whom I have so often spoken. I never can bring my-
self to believe that he betrayed me.”

do not share your confidence, my dear Camille, but
rest assured that if this lad were your proteg^, he would
not have failed to come here without delay.”

But he is injured, perhaps, or, who knows? he has
been cast into prison as an accomplice. And what will
he say if he is questioned? He will speak of Zig-Zag and
of me.”

Yery possibly, but what can I do?”

Go and see him and ask him "to tell you what hap-
pened to him. I don’t know where he is, but I shall
soon know, for I am going straight to the Porte Saint-
Ouen and to the brick house. I will question the guards
there.”

Yes, and compromise yourself irretrievably. I en-
treat you, my dearest, to abandon this project, and if you
insist upon investigating the matter, i^ermit me to do it
for you.”

You — when you must leave this evening.”
can defer my journey twenty-four hours. I will
'Warn the friend who is expecting me, by a telegram.”

152 ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWn! '

^^And I shall see you again to-morrow? Ah, well, in
that case, I accept your offer. Only promise me that an-
other day shall not pass without my having news of
Georget.’^

Say rather of the lad who was picked up at the brick
dioiise. That does not amount to the same thing, by
any means. Still, I will do my best. But let me hear
you say that you will join me in Londonl I can scarcely
believe in so much happiness.’’

I have promised, and I never break a promise.”

George de Menestreau made a sudden movement as if ta
throw himself upon his knee before her, but she checked
him.

I hear Brigitte’s voice,” she said. I sent her out
on an errand, and she must have returned. But how
strange! she seems to be uttering cries of terror.”

The clang of a hastily closed door followed the cries,
and an instant afterward, Brigitte rushed into the room
pale and breathless.

What is the matter?” asked Camille in alarm.

^^That dog, that terrible dog!” she faltered.

^MVhat dog?” inquired Mile. Monistrol, greatly as-
tonished.

‘^The clown’s dog,” replied Brigitte, though not with-
out an effort.

Camille started violently, and even M. do Menestreau
could not repress a movement of surprise.

Where is he?”

In the kitchen, mademoiselle, and it is fortunate that;
I was able to shut him up there, for he is not mimled,
and he would certainly tear us in pieces. He doesn’t look
as if he had eaten anything for a week.”

But how did he get in?”

‘■1 was entering the house, with my basket on my arm,
when just as I opened the door something dashed by me,
almost overturning me. Indeed, he would have knocked
me flat upon the floor if I had not held fast to the door.

I had scarcely time to close it; and if I liad lost my senses
for an instant, I am sure that the dog would have sprung
at my throat and strangled me, and then have come up
and finished you.

^Mlut he can’t get out. The window is too high,, and

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWK. 153

I took the precaution to close the shutters before going to
market.

Bqt hark! don’t yofi hear the fuss he is making?”*

In fact, heavy and repeated bloAVS were distinctly
audible.

Go ahead, you vile beast,” growled Brigitte. ‘^Thc
door is strong, and you will only wear yourself out. Still,
if he keeps on, he Avill break all my dishes. What is to
be doner”

Camille, as much at a loss as her old nurse, looked at
George de Menestreau, who seemed to be considering the
situation.

If we could succeed in muzzling him,” remarked
Mile. Monistrol, lie might enable us to find Zig-Zag.”

Kepeat the expedition of the other night!” exclaimed
Brigitte, lifting her hands in holy horror. You reached
home alive, it is true, but you need not expect to be so
fortunate another time.”

It would be folly to attempt that, mademoiselle,” M.
de Menestreau said, at last. ‘^Besides, I am satisfied that
this dog does not possess the wonderful powers your guide
attributed to him. If he loved his master so much, he
would not have left him; and it can not be Zig-Zag he is
seeking, as Zig-Zag is not here, unless you suppose that
be can find all the places that Zig-Zag ever visited, and
that supposition would be absurd.”

‘^Then how do you explain his coming?”

‘^In the simplest possible manner. This dog, like
many others, remembers places wonderfully well. His
master must have driven him away, or lost him inten-
tionally, probably fearing that the dog might lead to his
identification; for a dog can not be disguised like a man,
and every acrobat in the country knows this one. So Zig-
Zag managed to get rid of him, and the dog has been
roaming about the streets ever since in search of food.
He finally returned to the Place du Trone where he had
once stayed so long, and while running about the Boule-
vard Voltaire, he passed your house, and instantly remem-
bered that he had once been here.”

‘‘ That is quite possible,” murmured Camille, though
only partially convinced. Shall we let him in?”

By no means! I should not be at all surprised if he

154

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

were mad, and even if he is not, it would not be weil'i^
liave any trouble with a dog of his size and strength.”

^^Tni sure I have no desire. to’” muttered Brigitte.

But what shall we do with him?” inquired Camille.

Exactly what policemen do with stray dogs: kill
him.”

That will be no easy matter, I assure you.”

I will attend to that, mademoiselle. Since my late
adventure on the Plaine Saint-Denis, I always carry a re-
volver in my pocket.”

You must not run any risk.”

Oh, I shall not enter the kitchen. I will shoot him
from outside. There must be an opening in the shutters.”

Two,” promptly replied Brigitte. Monsieur’s plan
is an excellent one.”

Then show me a good place, my worthy friend. :
Mademoiselle will remain here.”

Oh, no, I insist upon accompanying you. If there is^
likely to be any danger, I am resolved to share it.”

If there were any danger, I should insist upon your
remaining here, but there can be none, so come, made-
moiselle.”

As they passed the kitchen door, they heard, not noisy
barks, but the hoarse howls which are considered one of
the symptoms of madness.

You have had a narrow escape, my dear Brigitte,”
remarked M. de Menestreau. If this dog had bitten
you, you would certainly have died a horrible death.”

Don’t speak of it, sir. It makes my blood run cold
just to think of it. Make haste and kill him.”

They all left the house together, and Brigitte led the
way to the tightly closed shutters that protected the
kitchen windows.

M. de Menestreau peered through one of the small
heart-shaped openings, then said:

I see him. The deuce! there is a space of at least six
inches between the shutters and the glass. It will be
more difficult to get a good shot at him than I thought,
especially as it is quite dark in there.”

He had scarcely uttered these words when the crash of
broken glass made him recoil.

Vigoureux having either seen or scented him, had
dashed against the window with all his might, and the-

ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOIVK.

155

broken pane was large enough for his head to pass through.
He cut himself badly, however, and his nose, which now
appeared at the opening, was torn and bleeding.

In another moment he had forced his head partially
through one of the holes in the shutter, and Camille and
Brigitte started back in terror, as well they might, for the
animal’s eyes were blood-shot, his lips were covered
with foam, and the ferocious howls he uttered were enough
to freeze one’s blood.

He was looking straight at M. de Menestreau, who did
not move, but who had his revolver leveled at the animal.

He now pulled the trigger, and it was time, for the
heavy shutters were cracking under the strain to which
they were subjected.

The animal uttered a cry of pain, but did not retreat.

M. de Menestreau had taken good aim, but the bullet
swerved a little, and instead of piercing the dog’s brain
it inflicted a wound just below one eye.

Stilb strange to say, Vigoureux, instead of drawing
back to escape the bullets, redoubled his efforts to force
his way out into the yard.

•^Kun away, my dear Camille,” cried Menestreau,
again raising his revolver.

Camille did not move. The terrible sight fascinated
her, and she could not take her eyes from it.

Menestreau fired a second time, and without much bet-
ter success. He hit the dog in tlie eye this time, but did
not kill him, and this new wound only increased the ex-
citement of the animal, who with one frantic effort burst
the hook that held the shutters. They flew open, and
Vigoureux rolled out upon the sand of the court-yard.

Brigitte ran away, screaming with terror, and Menes-
treau sprung back to cover Mile. Monistrol, wlio stood
her ground, resolved to share the fate of the man she
loved.

Menestreau had four bullets left in his revolver, but the
dog was not mortally wounded, and it would he much
more difficult to get a good shot at him now than before.

The animal was up in an instant, and though he had not
sufficient strength left to spring upon his executioner, he
nevertheless dragged himself slowly toward him, moan-
ing in a pitiful fashion.

M. de Menestreau took advantage of this unexpected

156

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

respite to take careful aim, and his third bullet passed
through the animal’s spinal column. But even then, with
the aid of his forepaws, he dragged himself painfully
along, with his eyes still fixed upon George de Menes-
treau’s face.

It seemed almost as if the poor brute was pleading for
mercy.

He did not obtain it, however. A fourth bullet struck
him between the shoulders, and he fell upon his side,,
dead.

At last!” muttered M. de Menestreau. He can not
hurt any one now. But he was a tough customer. I
thought once that I should not succeed in dispatching
him. You must have been terribly frightened,” he added,
turning to Camille.

For you, yes; but I must confess that the poor
beast’s suffering touched mo deeply.”

could understand that if it were any other dog.
But are you sure that he belonged to Zig-Zag?”

Positive. Ask Brigitte, and she will tell you — ”

^^Thatitis the very same dog,” interrupted the old
nurse, who had suddenly reappeared upon the scene of
action.

^^Then there is nothing left for us to do but to get rid
of his carcass. Bring me a spade, and I will bury him in
one of the flower-beds.”

Oh, no, let me attend to that, sir. I will drag him
out upon the boulevard, and the police will take him
away.”

Yes,” interposed Mile. Monistrol, ^Sand now permit
me to remind you that you promised to make inquiries
about that poor boy.”

^^lam going now; first, to the brick house, and if I
can obtain no reliable information there, I shall then
apply to the commissioner of police of that precinct.”

Thanks. I shall await your return with great im-
patience. Do not keep me waiting long.”

I shall take good care not to do that, as your depart-
ure for England is dependent upon this information. I
hope to be able to make my report before night. Will
you be at home all day?”

‘^^Yes, my dear George, I have not yet entirely re-
covered from my recent shock, and this scene has upset

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWJST.

157

my nerves completely. I need rest to set me righ t again.
So go, my friend, and return soon,” concluded Camille^
oifering both hands to her lover, who walked off at a rapid
pace, after imprinting a tender kiss upon tiiem.

Brigitte watched this affectionate leave-taking in silence,,
and her rather sullen air showed that she was not very
well pleased.

I)o you really intend to make that journey?” she
asked, brusquely.

Yes,” replied the young girl, with some embarrass-
ment; but we shall not be separated. I intend to take
you with me.”

Take me to London, never! I should die of home-
sickness in two days in that heathenish country! I am
like an old tree; I can not bear transplanting; besides,
England is too far from Montreuil. And what is more,”
she added, sulkily, if you are going there to marry
that handsome young man, you will make a great mis-
take, and one that you will repent of all your life. I
know it is no business of mine, but I can’t help worrying
about it, and I wish your poor father were alive to hear
me. He would not let you follow a man you do not
know from Adam — ”

• You forget that he saved my life!” interrupted
Camille.

^^Bah! It is more than likely that he was in league
with the rascals who attacked you. The young mtm is
only after your money. Why didn’t you take the other,
the light-complexioned one? We know something about
him, and he loves you for yourself.”

Enough,” said Camille, imperiously, the more ir-
ritated by these remarks from the fact that she realized
the justice of them, at least to a certain extent.

CHA.PTEE X.

Our light-hearted friend Alfred, Baron de Fresnay,
did not take his quarrel with the beautiful Hungarian
very deeply to heart.

On the contrary, a drive in the Bois with his friend
Julien, an- excellent dinner at the Cafe Anglais, and a
visit to the Summer Circus which had just opened on the

158

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

Champs Elysees, amply consoled him; and without troub-
ling himself any further about the capricious fair one,
he returned to the club about midnight, intending to try
his luck again at the card-table, if only to verify the say-
ing: ‘^Unfortunate in love, fortunate at cards.

M. Tergowitz was no longer there. After dinner he
had prudently taken his departure, laden with the con-
tents of a dozen pocket-books which he had drained dry.

Gemozac had left his friend after the circus without
telling him where he was going, but Alfred surmised that
lie was going home to curse his more fortunate rival, and
brood over Mile. Monistrol’s indifference.

Alfred took the bank, and finally succeeded in regain-
ing all he had lost as a player. He returned home about
five o’clock in the morning, well satisfied with his night’s
work, and not at all uneasy about the morrow, and soon
fell asleep to dream of winning all M. Tergowitz’s money,
and becoming reconciled to the charming Stepanette, who
•confessed her faults, and begged him to restore her to
favor. He even dreamed that he had discovered Monis-
trol’s murderer, and that the beautiful Camille, touched
by these proofs of his prowess and devotion, offered him
her hand and fortune.

Unfortunately, he was aroused from these blissful
dreams about nine o’clock by his valet, who had orders
never to enter his master’s room before noon.

Alfred opened one languid eye, glanced at the clock, and
then hurled a volley of vigorous oaths at his too zealous
servant. He called him a brute, and if he did not call
him a knave, as they do at the Comedie Fran9aise, it was
only because Jean would not understand him.

But Jean, accustomed to these ebullitions of temjier,
did not flinch.

“ There is a lady here who wishes to see monsieur,”
he said, trancpiilly.

“ Tell her to go to the devil!”

“ She assures me Monsieur le Baron made an api3oint-
ment with her.”

“ That is false! I make appointments with no one for
such hours. Is she pretty?”

Then seeing the valet hesitate, he added:

What a fool I am to ask the question. Ko pretty'

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWIT. 15^^

women are oiifc this early in the morning. Tell her to
leave. ’’

I did, sir; but she won’t go.”

^‘That’s strange. Did you ask her name?”

Slie says her name is Olga.”

Olga! Why, that is a fact! I remember now that I
did tell her to call this morning. If I had foreseen that
she would come at daybreak, I would have thought twice
before I did it. Where did you take her?”

^^Into tlie smoking-room, sir.”

^‘Very well; go and tell her I’ll be there presently.”

Jean vanished, and Fresnay, after much growling and
swearing, finally concluded to get up. After making a
hasty toilet, and lighting a cigar to freshen up his clouded
brain, he dragged himself to the smoking-room, which was
near liis chamber.

^^Here I am!” lie said to his visitor, who was arrayed
in one of her mistress’s dresses. You must have been a
canUniere to get up so early in the morning.”

I knew I should disturb you,” said Olga, ^^but — ”

^^But you did not want to lose the ten louis I promised
you. You shall have them; but you must earn them..
What have you to tell me?”

It depends upon what you want to know?”

^MVho was upstairs yesterday when I called?”

An old friend of madame’s.”

His name is Tergowitz, is it not?”

How do you know that?”

^‘I know a great deal more than that. He pretends to
be a Hungarian, but he is no more a Hungarian than I
am !”

Yo, I don’t think he is,” replied Olga, frankly; but
I am unable to say exactly what he is.”

^^And the pretended baroness was born in a porter’s
lodge at Montmartre, was she not?”

^^No. Her parents were very respectable people, and
she was educated for a teacher; but she preferred a more
lively life. I see I can safely tell monsieur everything.
The fact is, she has had splendid opportunities, but she
has not profited by them. She gave up everything to run
around, and she has had her ups and downs — more downs
than ups, I fancy. Now she has met with a really desir-

160

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

able man, it is a pityior her to lose him, and it will end
in that if monsieur isn't carefnl.”

^^Why? Is she so deeply infatuated with this Tergo-
witz?'^

Yes; besides, they are old cronies, and have been as-
sociated an many affairs that I know nothing about.
Still, though they haven’t really quarreled, things haven’t
been moving as smoothly as they might for two or three
days past.”

Why? Is the Hungarian jealous?”

^‘No, it is madame who is jealous. She fancies he is
paying court to a very rich young girl, and she is furious,
for she has taken it into her head to marry Monsieur
Tergowitz herself; and this whim is the more absurd on
her part, from the fact that she is already married.”

Indeed, and to whom?”

To a good for nothing fellow she married because she
was dying of hunger. I know nothing about him, for I
never saw madame while she was living with him. But 1
did not come and disturb monsieur merely to tell him
things that he knows already; I came because sometliing
new has happened. Last evening Monsieur Tergowitz
called, and he and madame had a terrible quarrel. I
listened on the stairs, and once I thought I should have
to go in and interfere, for I feared they were coming to
blovts. They finally seemed to become reconciled, how-
ever. This morning madame rang very early for her choc-
olate and the newspapers. While reading them she ut-
tered a cry, and started up so suddenly that she overturned
her cup. I asked her what the matter was? She didn't
answer, but sprung up out of bed, and began to walk u]!
and down the room, gesticulating excitedly, and talking
to herself. I thought she was going mad. Suddenly she
.began to throw on her clothes, calling to me to bring her
walking shoes, her mantle and her hat. It usually takes
her two hours and a half to dress, but this time it didn’t
take her ten minutes. I ventured to inquire if I should
fetch a carriage. ‘ No — liold your tongue,’ was the only
thanks I received for this suggestion. MYould madame
be back to breakfast?’ ‘ She really did not know.’ ^ And
if Monsieur Fresnay should call before madame returns?’
^Shut the door in his face.’

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK. 161

hope monsieur will not be angry with me for repeat^
ing these words.”

On the contrary, I am infinitely obliged to yon. Now
what do you think of all this? Do you think Stepanette
intends to take French leave of us?”

‘‘1 am. afraid so, for I noticed that she took all her
money with her. Still, she left all her clothing and
jewels. Wouldn’t it be well for monsieur to come over to
the house and see if everything is all right there? Then,
if madame should take it into her head to come back,
monsieur could have a talk with her.”

That wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I can’t go yet, for I
haven’t breakfasted.”

Monsieur might breakfast there. I am a capital
cook.”

Then why shouldn’t I?” exclaimed Fresnay, You
shall prepare breakfast for me, and tell my fortune while
I am eating it. If Stepanette should return, I would
like to see her face when she finds us seated at the table
together.”

She might dismiss me,” said Olga; still, I don’t care
for that, for I feel sure that monsieur will see me safely
out of the scrape.”

I will give you enough money to open an office, and
I’ll send all the idiots of my acquaintance to you to have
their fortunes told. You can make enough in six months
to retire from business.

In the meantime, here are ten louis to begin with.
Put the money in your pocket, go for a carriage, get into
it and wait for me at the door. I will be ready in twenty
minutes.”

Olga slipped the bank-notes in her bosom, and hastened
off in search of a carriage.

Fresnay made a hurried toilet, and after telling his
valet that he might not be back before night, he went to
join Olga whom he found waiting at the door.

He asked her numerous questions as they bowled along
toward Auteuil, but he found her less inclined to make
any revelations in regard to her mistress.

Olga probably considered that she had already given him
two hundred francs worth of information. Perhaps, too,
she was already beginning to repent of having betrayed
Mme. de Lugos.

162

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLO\YK.

Where does this Tergowitz live?’’ Alfred inquired*
^^He must have some abiding place.”

Yes, certainly,” replied Olga, ^^but I don’t know
Avhere it is.”

You must have known him, though, before you en-
tered the service of the countess.”

Very slightly.”

^^Did they reside in Paris when they lived together?”

I think not. They have both traveled a good deal.’^

That doesn’t surprise me. fStepanette must have been
a circus performer.”

What an idea!”

An idea that would instantly occur to any one who
saw her upon the trapeze. She is a star of the first mag-
nitude, too. It is a very rare accomplishment with young
ladies of respectable family, however. Not that I think
any the worse of her for having danced upon the tight-
rope. I have always had a fondness for artists. But tell
me, how old is she?”

Monsieur knows that a lady is always of the age she
looks to be.”

She looks young, I admit. But be frank now, doesn’t
she dye her hair?”

All women dye their hair nowadays.”

I don’t blame her, lam sure, for that Venetian chest-
nut suits her to perfection. But what color was her hair
before she dyed it?”

Black or dark brown, I think. I am almost sure that
she was a brunette.”

Very possibly, for she has a colorless skin, and jet-
black hair. If she should take it into her head to change
her nationality, she would have no difiiculty in passing
herself off for a Spaniard. Is she a Parisian?”

Yes, a pure-blooded Parisian. But it would be use-
less for you to ask me her real name, for I can’t tell you,
as she has always concealed it from me— on account of her
family — you understand.”

She’s a Montmorency, probably,” remarked Fresnay.

Olga did not seem to notice the joke.

These remarks, and others of a similar nature occupied
the time until they reached Auteuil, but on alighting at
the door of the house on the Rue Mozart Fresnay was not.
much wiser than before.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK. 163

^ If monsieur does not need me, I will go to market,”
said Olga. It is only a few steps from here, and mon-
sieur can have breakfast in half an hour.”

Fresnay then threw her a louis and entered the house,
while the delighted maid ran into the kitchen to get her
basket.

There had not been the slightest change in the drawing-
room since the evening before. The ropes that supported
the trapeze were still dangling from the ceiling.

On the floor above, however, there was every indication
of a hasty departure. The dressing-room and bedroom
were both in the utmost disorder. The chairs were strewn
with dresses, the floor with silk stockings and fragments
of letters, while on the bed lay a long and narrow box
strongly resembling a pistol-case.

An open newspaper lay on the little table beside the
bed. It had apparently been thrown there by an impa-
tient hand.

It occurred to Fresnay that it was in this paper that
Mine, de Lugos must have read the news that had so ex-
cited her; so he picked it up and glanced over it, in the
hope of flnding the paragraph.

He saw a long list of carriage accidents, thefts, fires,
sudden deaths, and other items of a local nature, but
nothing that could have the slightest connection with
either Mme. de Lugos or M. Tergowitz.

But he perceived that a paragraph had been cut from
the last column on the second page, and this was doubt-
less the work of the countess. If she had taken the
trouble to do this in her haste and exasperation, it must
have been in order that she might be able to show Tergo-
witz an item that concerned either him or her.

^^I will soon find out what the paragraph was about,”
Fresnay said to himself. ^^I shall only have to send Olga
to the nearest newspaper stand to purchase another copy
cf the same paper.”

While waiting to solve this mystery, he began to look
around him for some more significant clew, and finally
picked up the iron box, fully expecting to find it locked.

To his very great surprise, he had only to lift the cover
to open it, and his astonishment increased when he beheld
its contents, which proved to be a pair of steel gauntlets

164

ZIG-ZAG;, THE CLOW^T.

which might have formed a part of the armor of a knight
of mediaeval times.

Fresnay could hardly believe his eyes, and he was ob-
liged to take up the gauntlets and turn them over and
over, before he could make up his mind that he was nor
mistaken.

Whence came these curious articles! The ancestors of
this pretended Madame de Lugos certainly had not figured
among the Crusaders, and consequently these gauntlets
could not be a family relic. Had she stolen them from a
museum? And why had she preserved them so carefully?

On examining them more closely Fresnay perceived that
they were of modern make. The steel was new and shin-
ing, and they were lined with a soft kid that had become
slightly discolored by use, particularly at the places that
corresponded with the finger joints. This seemed to indi-
cate that they had been worn, but by whom, and under what
circumstances? Perhaps by some actor in a grand spec-
tacular drama. Bat how had they come into Stepan-
ette’s possession? Did they belong to Tergowitz? This
pretended Hungarian’s life had doubtless been full of
strange vicissitudes, and it was not unlikely that he had
been an actor.

Fresnay tried the^ gauntlets on, and found them very
comfortable. It was only necessary to press a spring to
fasten them on securely, and once on, they did not im-
pede the movements of his hands in the least. On the
contrary, they seemed to increase his power to seize ob-
jects, to hold a sword or a saber for example.

They are perhaps fencing gloves of a new design,
Alfred said to himself. ‘‘I have a great mind to take
^ them and show them to my armorer.”

And hearing Olga’s step on the stairs, he slipped them
into his pocket.

‘^Breakfast is served,” said she, from the doorway^
dropping a low courtesy.

The table was laid in the dining-room. Upon a cloth
of dazzling whiteness, delicate pink shrimps and scarlet
radishes flanked a dish upon which smoked eggs cooked
with truffies. For substantial, dishes of cold meat of
various kinds; and for dessert, a basket of superb cherries.
Through a cut glass decanter gleamed wine of the clearest
topaz.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWiSr.

165

Ah, you are a jewel!’’ exclaimed Fresnay. It would
have taken my valet an lionr to get up such a breakfast.”

truly hope monsieur will find everything to his
liking. As for the wine, it is some of the choice Sauterne
monsieur sent to rnadame.”

I did not expect to drink it, but as it is drawn, fill
my glass, my dear,” said Alfred, attacking the eggs.

Olga filled the glass, and remained standing, with one
hand resting upon her hip, in the traditional pose of a
stage cantiniere,

^^You look very pretty in that attitude,” continued
Fresnay, and your fried eggs are a great success.”

Monsieur is a flatterer.”

^^No, upon my word! You have a very piquant way
about you, really. Sit down, and let us talk.”

No very great amount of urging was required to induce
Olga to take a seat at the table. It was very ev^ident that
she no longer felt any fear of being surprised by her mis-
tress or of losing her situation.

Perhaps she even flattered herself that she might take
the mistress’s place in this gentleman’s affections, and
Alfred’s compliments perhaps heightened this illusion..

Ah, madarne must have lost her head completely to
act as she has,” she remarked. ‘^I wonder what mon-
sieur will do about this new escapade.”

^^That depends,” replied Fresnay, as he helped himself
to a second glass of Sauterne. I think I shall forgive
her if she will tell me the truth about Tergowitz.”

Monsieur seems to feel a great interest in the man.”

The same interest one always feels in the achievements
of a clever rascal. I am curious to know who he is, and
how the part he is playing is likely to end.”

If it ends badly for him, it will not end well for
madarne. They quarreled last night, it is true, but here-
tofore they have been on the best possible terms, and they
have been working together in perfect harmony.”

Working together is good! Do you mean that they
have been leagued together to extort money out of idiots?’^

I should answer yes, if I did not fear to pain monsieur.”

^^Oh, I will cheerfully acknowledge myself to be one of
the dupes, and I shall not be in the least offended if you
prove that this amiable couple have succeeded in victimiz-
ing me to a very considerable extent. On the contrary, I

Ib't)

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK.

shall be infinitely obliged if yon will give me full informa-
tion in regard to them. If you would only tell me their
true history and their ]*eal names, I could not do enough
to prove my gratitude.’’

Monsieur is jesting,” murmured the fortune-teller,
-blushing with pleasure.

No, I am really in earnest, upon my honor! I begin
to believe that these two people have a crime upon their
conscience. In union there is strength; and now they
are at odds, they will be quite likely to denounce each
other, and as you may suppose, I feel no desire to be
mixed up, even indirectly, in an affair that is likely to
come before the Court of Assizes. Now, go on, and tell
me ail you know about them. I swear that you shall not
repent of it. I will make your fortune.”

^‘If I were sure monsieur would not tell madame how
he obtained his information, I would gladly tell monsieur
all I know.”

‘^1 will not tell her, I promise you that. Come, go on.
If you will, I will give you a start in business. The night
I met you at the Oaf6 Americain, you told me you were
going to meet some one who was waiting for you at the
Western Eailway Station. It was a falsehood, was it not?”

‘^No, by all I hold sacred, madame arrived by the five
o’clock express.”

That is to say, she pretended to arrive then. I met
her at the Cafe des Ambassadeurs the evening before,”

I knew you must have met her before, as you called
at the Grand Hotel to see her. I was surprised though,
that she had invited you there, for she might have known
that the hotel people would tell you that she had arrived
only that morning.”

^^One can not think of everything. But how did you
become acquainted with this estimable couple?”

‘^I met them frequently at fairs, and sometimes my
tent happened to be next to theirs.”

I was right, then, when I said that Stepanette had
been a circus-performer.”

Yes, she hadn’t her equal as a tight-rope dancer a few
years ago, but since she became so stout she has figured
chiefly in the show at the door.”

She must have drawn a crowd with those eyes of hers.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWK. - 167

But ill whafc capacity did the Ilungariaii nobleman ap-
pear? As the clown?”

^‘Oh, no; Amanda’s husband was the clown.”

So her real name is Amanda. She did well to change
it. Stepanette is much more aristocratic. But what was
our other friend’s specialty?”

He was an acrobat, and one of the cleverest I ever
saw. He could earn a handsome living anywhere just
with one feat that he calls head-first. There isn’t an
acrobat at the Champs Elysees’s circus who can compare
with him.”

^'Head-first!” repeated Fresnay. " Wait a second. It
seems to me I have heard of that feat before. Under what
name did lie appear at the fairs?”

" Zig-Zag was his stage name.”

"Zig-Zag! Did you say Zig-Zag?” cried Fresnay, ris-
ing so hastily that he overturned the basket of cherries.

"Good heavens! what is the matter with you?” ex-
claimed Olga, springing up in alarm.

" Were not Zig-Zag and Amanda performing together,
about three weeks ago, at the fair on the Place du Trone?”
inquired Fresnay, eagerly.

"It is very possible, or rather probable, for their em-
ployer never missed one. Still, I can not swear to it, for
I was not in the city at the time.”

" Where were you?”

" In Beauvais, where I did not make a penny. The
sheriff seized my horse and chaise, and I had barely enough
money left to buy a third-class ticket back to Paris. I
hoped to find some way to earn a living here, and I was
lucky for once, for I had not been here an hour, when I
met Zig-Zag in the street — Zig-Zag arrayed like a prince.
I spoke to him, and asked him if he couldn’t do some-
thing to help an old friend along, and he proposed that
I should enter Amanda’s service.”

" Didn’t you ask him how he had made such a fortune?’^

" Of course. He replied that he had recently inherited
a fortune from an uncle, and this did not surprise me
much, as I had always understood that his family was a
wealthy one. He told me that he had had enough of the
circus business, and that he was going to make a fresh
start in life. It was evident that he had plenty of money,,
and that he must have shared it with madame.”

168

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWIST.

I know where they got it,’’ muttered Fresnay. ^^IsTow
give me the scoundrel’s address.”

I swjear to you that I do not know it. I swear it by
the ashes of my mother.”

Where did he and Amanda meet?”

*^Here, as I have already told you; though when
madame went out, it was to see liim, 1 am sure. But she
never talked to me about her affairs, and I never ventured
to follow her.”

But you will do so now, if I pay you for it, will you
not?” asked Fresnay.

I am no spy,” was the rather curt reply.* ‘^1 have
told you this about madame, because I thought you ought
to know it. But why do you want me to follow her?
You must think that Zig-Zag has been guilty of robbery
or murder.”

Fresnay was about to reply in the affirmative, but sud-
denly changed his mind. It was very evident that this
woman knew little or nothing about these persons’ imme-
diate antecedents. Indeed, it was doubtful if she had
even heard of the murder on the Boulevard Voltaire, and
certainly her mistress had not taken her into her confi-
dence.

It would be far better for him to keep what he knew to
liimself, however, for Olga, better informed in regard to
what had transpired, might take her mistress’s part and
warn her of her danger.

You have met Monsieur Tergowitz several times, you
say,” continued Olga. ^^How does it happen that you
failed to notice that he and Zig-Zag were one and the
same person?”

I had seen Zig-Zag only with a mask over his face.”

That is true. I forgot that he always appeared be-
fore the public masked. But you must have seen Aman-
da, too.”

Yes, and I don’t understand why I failed to recognize
her when I met her in the guise of a countess. It is true
that she had dyed her hair, and that changes her greatly,
of course.”

Yes, so greatly, that I, myself, scarcely recognized
her when I met her again. Bbt I hope that when she re-
turns, you are not going to tell her to lier face all I have
told you about her and her friend Tergowitz.”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWII.

169

I shall take very good care not to do that, for she
would tear my eyes out, and 1 don’t want a scene. I
shall utter no reproaches, nor shall I ask her any embar-
rassing questions.”

But she is not here yet, and I would like to do justice
to this breakfast prepared by your fair hands — they are
very fair — so do me the favor to resume your seat and
keep me company. I can not bear to eat alone.”

Olga, nothing loath, reseated herself, and proceeded to
fill the glass of the baron, who said:

I hate to drink alone even worse, so pour yourself out
a glass of Sauterne, my dear, and drink to my health.”

Ko, no,” simpered the fortune-teller. I am only a
poor servant-girl.”

^^That makes no difference. Come, no ceremony.
Hold your glass. I’ll fill it myself.”

Olga obeyed, but as she leaned toward Alfred to touch
her glass to his, a voice cried, sharply:

You are enjoying yourself, I see. It is quite evident
that you were not expecting me!”

This voice, which they both recognized, rang in poor
Olga’s ear like the trump of doom.

.But Fresnay was neither alarmed nor surprised. On
the contrary, he remained quietly in his seat and drained
his glass to the very last drop.

The countess dropped the portiere, and slowly advanced
toward the table, surveying Alfred with eyes that posi-
tively blazed with anger.

Will you be so kind as to inform me what gives you
the right to make yourself so much at home?” she asked,
curtly.

^^But it seems to me that I am at home, at least to
some extent,” replied Fresnay, smiling.

I know that this house belongs to yon, but I am oc- , ;
cupying it, and I forbid you to set foot in it again so long
as I remain here.

^^As for you, hussy,” she added, turning to Olga,

‘‘ you are dismissed. Leave the house immediately!”

Madame will be sorry for this,” replied the fortune-
teller, maneuvering all the while to reach the door.

^^Ho threats. Behave yourself, and don’t let me hear
of you again, or I will save you the necessity of seeking
lodgings by sending you to the penitentiary.”

170

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

would seem that Mademoiselle Olga has not a clear
conscience herself,” thought Fresnay. Can it be that
she, too, was implicated in MonistroFs murder?”

Very well. I am going,” said Olga, but in a much
less insolent tone.

She glanced at the baron, in the hope that he was going
to interfere, but the baron said not a word, so Olga de-
parted, secretly vowing vengeance upon both of them.

‘^It is our turn now, sir,” said Mme. de Lugos.

Why these tragic airs, my dear:” asked Fresnay,
coolly. A scone about fried eggs is simply ridiculous,
for I don’t suppose jealousy can be the cause, as I cer-
tainly must have better taste than to prefer your maid to
you, and in your absence I thought it would do no harm
to order breakfast, as I was dying of hunger.”

You did not come here to get your breakfast; you
came to play the spy. It does not matter, however, for I
am about to leave France, and shall never set eyes on you
again, thank Heaven!”

You are leaving France for Hungary, I suppose?”

Probably.”

In company with your old friend. Monsieur Ter-
gowitz?”

What business is that of yours?”

None whatever. Only it seems to me that I saw him
yesterday at the club.”

You know him, then?”

Yes, indeed. I saw him with you at the Cafe des
Ambassadeurs, and I met him on the staircase of the
Grand Hotel, the day I first called on you. Besides, the
Pole who brought him to our club registered him under
the name of Tergowitz. I can even tell you some news
that will doubtless prove of a very pleasing nature, as you
are such a very particular friend of his. He has just won
a large sum of money at play.”

What do you call a large sum?”

Oh, everything is comparative, fifteen or twenty, or
perhaps even thirty thousand francs. I can not say ex-
actly, as I am not on speaking terms with him.”

“ Ho you think he will revisit the club?”

I really can not say. Why do you ask the question?”

Because I am looking for him.”

Don’t you know where he lives?”

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

171

Yes. I went, there this morning, but I could not find
him, nor could anyone tell me when he would return; and
I must see him to-day.’^

^^To decide with him upon the hour of departure?
Shall I send him to you if I happen to meet him?’’

The countess started. She perceived at last that Fres-
nay was ridiculing her. Anger had blinded her at first,
but her eyes were now opened, and she saw that Olga had
betrayed her secret. All further subterfuges would there-
fore prove unavailing.

‘‘Before we part, 1 am going to ask one last favor of
you,” she said, suddenly.

“It is granted, whatever it may be.”

“ Oh, 1 shall not take too great an advantage of your
kindness. It is simply a request that you will accompany
me — ”

“ Where? To Hungary?”

“ Not nearly so far. I only wish you to go with me to
witness an execution, light here in the city. Come, I have
a carriage at the door. Give me time to say a word to
Olga, and then we will go.”

CHAPTER XI.

AiTer the explosion that saved his life, Georget passed
several days and nights that were almost as wretched as
those spent in the cellar of the brick house.

He had been dragged before a comniissioner of police,
and that functionary had subjected him to a searching
examination. He was strongly suspected of being in the
employ of the gang of defrauders that had made the cel-
lar of the deserted dwelling their store-house, and the
magistrate tried to compel him to denounce them.

Tlie lad defended himself, however, as well as he could^
by telling pretty nearly the truth.

He declared that while in pursuit of a lost dog, his
father and himself had lost their way on the Plaine Saint-
Denis, and had taken refuge in a ruined house, where
they fell through an open trap-door into a very deep cel-
lar. There they had remained at least seven days and
nights among piles of hams and casks of brandy, to which
his father had accidentally set fire.

172

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWX.

After listening to this not altogether iinphiusible ex-
planation, the commissioner had visited the scene of the
catastrophe in company with George t. The gendarmes
were already there, and the cellar had been carefully ex-
plored. The charred remains of Courapied had been dis-
covered. The wall that had divided the cellar had been
injured by the explosion, but as it was still standing, a
careful examination showed that several large stones in
the middle of it had been cleverly arranged to revolve
upon themselves when pressure was applied to a certain
spot.

George t’s story did not correspond in all respects with
what he had said to the by-standers immediately after the
catastrophe, but the commissioner did not attach much
importance to this slight discrepancy; nor did he think
for an instant of accusing the lad of having set fire to the
casks of brandy in the hope of getting rid of his father.

He insisted, however, upon knowing the name, resi-
dence, and profession of the deceased; but Georget, fear-
ful lest he might implicate Mile. Monistrol, confined
himself to saying that his father was so ])oor he had
no home, and that most of the time they -roved about,
earning their bread as best they could.

Vagrancy is not a very grave offense, and Georget would
probably have been released forthwith, had it not been for
the rather showy clothing he wore. The commissioner
suspected him of having stolen this gorgeous outfit, and
all his protestations to the- contrary were powerless to con-
vince the man that held the boy’s fate in his hand. So,
instead of setting him at liberty, he sent him to the Dep6t
until further information should be obtained in regard to
him.

Georget made no protest. He knew that they would
become tired of keeping him sooner or later, and that he
would then be free again.

Th6 brave lad really grieved over but one thing: that
he was not able to attend the funeral of his father, who
liad been buried in the Potters’ Field. But he vowed
vengeance on Zig-Zig and Amanda, who had made him an
orphan; and he secretly resolved to resume the hunt that
had resulted so disastrously, to track them to their hiding
place, and finally to deliver them up to justice, and thus

- ZIG-ZAG,, THE CLOWIS’. 173

avenge not only his own father, but the father of Camille.
In the meantime he prepared his plan of action.

He felt sure that Zig-Zag and his companion were still
in Paris, and tliat it was not at fairs he must seek them,
but at places of fashionable amusement. He said to him-
self: I will earn my living by calling carriages, and

opening doors for theater-goers. It will take time, but I
shall find them sooner or later.”

Such were his plans, when one of the assistant jailers
sent for him one morning. The boy’s heart throbbed
loud and fast at first; for, knowing nothing about the cus-
toms of the prison, he fancied for a minute or two that he
was about to be cast in a gloomy dungeon, to perish there.

He did not dare to question the official, and was most
agreeably surprised when the man opened a massive door
and pushed him out, saying as he did so:

Clear out, you young scamp, and see that you don’t
get back here again.”

At last lie was free again! But freedom is not every-
thing. One must have food, and he was penniless, and he
knew that no one would trust him for a single cent’s worth.

It is true that he had only to present himself at Mile.
Monistrol’s house to be received with open arms, but he-
did not wish to be seen entering the cottage on the Boule-
vard Voltaire; for, though he was as brave as a lion, he
was also as prudent as a serpent, and he greatly feared that
he would be shadowed by some member of the detective
force.

He had taken it into his head that he might have been
released by the officers of the prison in order to find out
where he would go on leaving the Depot, for he had read
several of Gaboriau’s novels, and had learned through
them that the police sometimes resort to this expedient
when they have failed to establish tlie identity of a pris- .
oner.

He forgot that novelists do not always pride themselves
on a strict adherence to the truth; besides, he greatly
exaggerated his own importance.

So he resolved not to go straight to Mile. Monistrol’s
residence but to approach it by the most roundabout
way, and to examine the outside of the house carefully
before venturing in.

After satisfying himself that no suspicious character

174

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWiq-.

was dogging his steps, he walked leisurely toward the
Isle Saint-Louis, which he traversed from end to end;
then crossed the right bank of the river.

Before reaching the Place de la Bastile he turned more
than once to see if any one was following him, and, reas-
sured at last on tliis score, he had about, made up his
mind to approach the Boulevard Voltaire by the Rue de
la Roquette, when, on passing a station from which sev-
eral lines of omnibuses started, he saw a woman whom he
fancied he knew alight from one of these vehicles.

Her face seemed familiar, but he could not recollect
where he had met her, for she was handsomely dressed, and
GeorgePs acquaintance with richly clad ladies was extreme-
ly limited.

She, too, had paused on seeing him, and now stood
watching him with strange intentness. She, too, was evi-
dently asking herself where she had seen him before.

At last she approached him and asked:

AreiPt you Georget, Courapied^s son.’^

^^Ves, madame,’^ replied the lad, though not very
promptly. ^^But I don’t know who you are.”

‘^Nevertheless you have climbed into my wagon more
than once, and no longer ago than last year, at the Saint-
Cloud Fair.”

“ Oh, I know you now, madarne. It was you who told
fortunes and — ”

“ Exactly, but Pm not following that business now.”

“ That is very evident. You have retired with a fort-
une, I judge.”

“ I think I can hardly say as much for you. You look
rather seedy. Where did you get that rig? Are you a
waiter now?”

“ No, but I am trying to earn my own living.”

“Isn’t your father with you?”

“My father is dead!”

“Is it possible! Wliy, the last time I saw him he
looked as hale and hearty as could be. He drank too
much, though, at times, and I suppose it was liquor that
carried him off at last.”

“ No, madarne, he was killed.”

“What! Who killed him?”

“ Zig-Zag.”

“ Nonsense! In that case he would have been arrested^.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

and I saw him only yesterday. And your step-mother,
what lias become of her?”

She ran away with Zig-Zag, and she helped him to
kill papa. If you know where they are pray tell me. I
am looking for them.”
hat for?”

‘^In order to have them both sent to the guillotine.”

Just hear the boy! But how did they kill Ooura-
pied ?”

Father was trying to find them. He wanted to get
his wife back. They enticed him into a house near the
Eoutedela Kevolte. I was with him at the time. We
fell into a cellar through a trap-door that they had left
open expressly for ns. They afterward locked us up in
this cellar, and we should have starved, if the cellar had
not been full of hams and casks of brandy. This brandy
caught fire, and father was burned to death. What I am
telling you is true. It was in all the papers.”

Olga — for this was Olga — who had been strongly in-
clined to doubt the lad’s statements at first, was struck by
this iMt assertion, for she recollected that the pretended
Countess de Lugos had rushed out of the house like a
madwoman after a hasty glance at her morning paper.

She, Olga, had just left the house on the Eue Mozart,
vowing vengeance upon her former mistress, so these dis-
closures were most gratifying.

^^I begin to think you are telling the truth,” she ex-
claimed. ^‘1 have no love for the good-for-nothing creat-
ures, so I shouldn’t be very sorry to see them come to
grief. But you are very much mistaken, my boy, if you
think what you have just told me will cost them their
heads. Persons are not guillotined for shutting a man and
a boy up in a cellar. They would get only six-months’
imprisonment, at the very longest.”

‘^But they have done something much worse,” replied
Georget, forgetting that this disclosure might lead him
further than he thought.

What?” asked the fortune-teller eagerly. Did they
steal their employer’s money before they ran away?”

The manager had no money. The concern is all broken
jip, and father and I didn’t get so much as a penny.”

Then where did they get the money they are living
on now? They are rolling in gold.”

^^Frorn a man that Zig-Zag murdered.”

Nonsense!”

^‘It is the truth. That affair, too, was- in the papers.

I very seldom read them. When did it occur?”

About three weeks ago.”

I was not here then, I was in Beauvais, But are you
sure that Zig-Zag and Amanda were guilty of this crime?”

‘‘ 1 am not sure that Amanda had any hand in it, but
she must have profited by it, as she ran away with Zig-
Zag.”

Yes, that is as plain as daylight. And you are
anxious to find them, you say?”

Oh, yes, yes!”

‘^In order to denounce them?”

Certainly. I would show them no mercy. They
have injured me, and those who were kind to me, too
deej^ly.”

‘^Yes, Amanda did treat you shamefully; there is no
doubt about it. Well, if you want to know where they
are, come with me.”

‘MVill you take me where they are?”

Listen. I saw Amanda this morning — only an hour
ago, in fact. She did not tell me where she was going,
for she is a sharp one, and distrusts everybody; but, just
as I left her, she stepped into the carriage, and I heard
the address she gave the coachman. I even noticed the
number of the carriage, and if we should find it in front
of a door, it will be proof positive that she is in the house.”

Come, then,” said Georget, eagerly.

^^Very well; but I warn you that I sha’n’t go in. I
don’t want to see her.”

Very well; but I shall go in.”

You can do as you please, of course; but I shall go
abdut my business, and let you have it out with her alone.”

That suits me. Is it far from here?”

^^Not very far. We shall be there in twenty minutes.
But I would rather you did not walk along beside me.
We might meet Zig-Zag.”

I will follow you at a little distance.”

^^Let us start, then. Try not to lose sight of me.”

There is no danger of that. I have sharp eyes.”

Olga took up the line of march, and Georget folio wecf
her.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CL0\Y1I. .

Olga was delighted. She had the best of reasons for
keeping in the background as much as possible, but
chance had furnished her with an unexpected opportunity
to avenge her wrongs without compromising herself.

Georget was equally jubilant, for he flattered himself
that his father’s murderer was already in his power, and
so congratulated himself most heartily on his meeting
with Olga,

He was not a little surprised to see her turn into the
Eue de la Koquette, as if with the intention of going ta
Mile. MonistroFs house, and his astonishment increased
as he saw her when half-way down this thoroughfare, that
leads to the place of execution, turn to the right, into the
Boulevard Voltaire.

Where could she be going? And how had tliat odious
Amanda summoned up the assurance to repair to the local-
ity where her lover had committed such a terrible crime,

Olga hastened on, and Georget soon caught sight of the
cottage in which he had dined with his father before start-
ing out upon their unfortunate expedition.

He was walking on, with his head high in the air, so as
not to lose sight of the fortune-tellet, when he suddenly
stumbled over something that was lying directly in his
path.

It was the body of a dead dog that obstructed the way,
and Georget, on glancing at it, uttered such a sharp cry
that Olga turned and retraced her steps, startled by these
signs of agitation and terror.

What is the matter?” she asked.

‘^It is Vigoureux, Zig-Zag’s dog,” faltered the lad.

That is true,” said Olga, stooping to examine the
brute’s bloody carcass. It is that hateful beast that was
always snapping at everybody. Once he tore a brand-new
dress in pieces for me. Thank heaven! he can’t bite any
one uow.”

He has been shot,” murmured Georget. It cer-
tainly was not Ziz-Zag that did it. He thought too much
of his dog. But how came he here?”

How do I know? His master used to perform on the
Place du Trone. Vigoureux was looking for him, per-
haps, and some passer-by shot him.”

Then I am afraid Zig-Zag can not be far off.”

‘^Bah! he will not eat vou if he is. If he had you in

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

the house, he might make things lively for you, but he
won’t dare to molest you in the street. Still, I can’t say
that I am particularly anxious to meet him. Come with
me now as far as that carriage you see standing down
there. It looks very much like the one I saw Amanda
get into.”

What! down there in front of that board fence?”

Yes, Is there anything very astonishing about that?”

^^That is the house where Zig-Zag strangled the man.”

Nonsense! You must be mistaken!”

I am not mistaken, I know the house; I went there
once with my father.”

And is the house occupied now?”

^^Yes. The daughter of the man Zig-Zag killed still
lives there.”

Alone?”

^MVith an old servant.”

^^And Amanda has gone to pay her a visit? How
strange!”

Who knows but she intends to kill the young lady,
too,” murmured Georget, shuddering at the thought that
his benefactress might be in mortal peril.

You need have no fears of that, child. Amanda has
some one with her — a gentleman, not a scoundrel like
Zig-Zng. But the deuce take me if I can imagine what
has induced her to bring him here. This matter is worth
looking into, really; so wait here for a moment while I go
and take a look at the carriage.”

Georget, greatly excited, watched her as she approached
the vehicle and glanced at the number painted upon its
lamps.

^^It is the same carriage,” she remarked, when she had
returned to the lad’s side. Amanda is in the house, and
if you miss her, it will be your own fault.”

^^No, for she may leave in the carriage, and I shall not
be able to follow her on foot.”

You need not wait for her to come out. The gate is
not locked. Walk straight in upon her. I should like to
see the hussy’s face when she catches sight of you. Slie
dresses like a fine lady, now, and she has dyed her hair
red, but you will recognize her all the same. Call her by
her right name, and ask her when she heard from Zig-
Zag. You’ll get the best of her — never fear. And you

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWX. 179

needn’t be at all afraid of the gentleman who is with her.
He will take your part, I assure you.”

“ I am not afi'aid of him. I am not afraid of anything
except of troubling the person who lives there.”

‘‘The daughter of the man Zig-Zag killed? Why, on
the contrary, she will thank you, for she must be as anx-
ious to avenge her father as you are to avenge yours. Be-
sides, I’m almost sure that Amanda is plotting some mis-
chief against her.

“Now, my boy, I must leave you to manage the affair
as best you can. I have put you on the track, and will
now leave you to bag your game.

“I am going, and I trust you won’t forget your promise
not to mention my name, whatever the result may be. I
shall leave Paris immediately, in order to be out of reach
in case of any scandal. I shall return, perhaps, when
Zig-Zag and Amanda are safe in jail, but remember, if
you ever meet me, that you have never seen or heard of
me before. Do you understand?”

And with this rather unceremonious leave-taking, Olga
crossed the boulevard, and walked rapidly toward the
Place du Trone.

She had fired the train, and did not care to stay and
Avitness the explosion.

She left poor Georget in a very embarrassing position.
Great as was his desire to unmask Amanda, and capture
Zig-Zag, he nevertheless hesitated to intrude upon Mile.
Monistrol without giving her some warning; besides, what
should he say in the presence of the strange gentleman
who might be an enemy.

Before deciding on the course to be pursued, Georget
determined to effect a quiet entrance into the yard, if
possible. As the coachman Avas fast asleep on the box,
the boy had no difficulty in doing this; but he dared not
even glance up at the AvindoAvs for fear of seeing, or being
seen by, Brigitte, Avho Avould be likely to receive him very
ungraciously.

Fortunately Brigitte did not make her appearance, and
Georget’s eyes happened to fall upon a tiny house in
Avhich M. Monistrol had been Avont to keep his hoes, rakes,
Avatering-pots and other gardening implements.

The boy instantly took refuge in this, closing the door
behind him, for through the poorly joined planks, he

180 ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

conkl plainly see any one who entered or left the cot-
tage.

CHArTER XIL

After M. de Menestreaii’s departure, Camille relapsed
into a most despondent mood. Life seemed to have lost
all charm for her, and the future appeared even more
gloomy than on the day immediately following her
father’s death.

Since that catastrophe, everything seemed to have con-
spired against her. The murderer was still at large. If
,the papers could be believed, one of those who had tried
to assist her in capturing him, had died a violent death,
and Georget was in prison. All her former friends had
deserted her. The G^mozacs were hopelessly estranged
from her; the mother would have nothing more to do
with her; the father had left her, deeply offended, and
his return seemed very doubtful, and the son, whose
pride had been so deeply wounded, no longer seemed
averse to yielding his place to a rival.

Even Brigitte did not hesitate to express her disap-
proval of her young lady’s choice, and had flatly refused
to accompany her to England.

To compensate for this widespread defection, she had
George de Menestreau devotion — that is to say — the de-
votion of a man whom she scarcely knew, who exercised
over her the mysterious but powerful fascination to which
inexperienced young girls seem such easy victims.

She had fallen in love with him in a paroxysm of pro-
found gratitude, and she persisted in regarding this love aib
■serieux, and in attaching undue importance to the fancy;
but she was beginning to vaguely comprehend that she
was doing wrong to unite her destiny irretrievably with
that of a handsome young man whose principal claim upon
her favor, consisted in having put two scoundrels to flight.

She persisted in her determination, however, and was
ready to keep her imprudent promise to join the stranger
in England and marry him there.

Her sole condition, and that was hardly worthy of the
name, had been that he was to bring her news of Georget.

She was not obliged to wait long for this. In less than
two hours after the shooting of Vigoureux, M. de Menest-

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWIT.

181

jreau returned, and found her alone in the little drawing-
|Tooin where her father had met with a violent death at
j bhe hands of an assassin.

! Camille received him with less warmth than usual, for
she felt strangely depressed in spirits.

I It seems that one can place very little dependence upon
i newspaper reports in this case, as in many others,^’ M.

^ le Menestreau remarked rather carelessly, An acci-
ident similar to the one described did take place on
the Plaine Saint-Denis; but the victims were two poor
I wretches, a man and a boy who were sleeping there, for
want of a better resting-place, and who are in no way
I connected with the parties in whom you take such an in-
jterest.’’

' ‘MYhat! the boy is dead, too?^- murmured Camille.

He survived the accident a few hours, but his injuries
were so serious that he did not live the day out. He was
buried this morning. I learned all these particulars from
the coroner who conducted the examination.”

^‘Dead! Both of them dead for me!” repeated the
young girl, her eyes filling with tears.

What! Do you still believe that they were so devoted
to your interests? How can I convince you that they have
rejoined their accomplice Zig-Zag?”

Do not try to convince me that they betrayed me. If
my faith in them is only a delusion, do not take it from
me. It would grieve me deeply to lose it.”

Heaven preserve me from wounding your tender heart,
mademoiselle!” exclaimed George. ‘‘I will never speak
of them again. But permit me to allude to myself, as I
have only a few moments more to spend with you. I have
just received a telegram from London which makes it ab-
solutely necessary for me to leave this evening, and — shall
I confess it? — I have no hope of seeing you again.”

Have I not pledged you my word?”

^^Yes, mademoiselle; and I do not doubt your inten-
tion of keeping it. But what will happen after my de-
parture? You will be surrounded by persons who hate
me, and who will not fail to traduce me.”

To what persons do you refer?”

First and foremost to Monsieur Gemozac. He wants
to keep you for his son, on account of your fortune. What
is to prevent him from telling you that he has received

182

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

the worst possible reports in relation to me. I shall not
be here to defend myself^ and — ’’

Monsieur Gernozac is an honorable man, and utterly
incapable of misrepresentation or falsehood, I am sure,
I have informed him in your presence of my intention to
marry you. I have solemnly promised to be your wife.
What more can you ask?’’

Nothing; I have no right. But I entreat you to leave
Paris with me.”

You know perfectly well that is an impossibility.”

Why? You need not consider Monsieur G6mozac’s
wishes, as you are in possession of papers that insure your
independence.”

Camille started. This commingling of impassioned prot-
estations of love and questions of a financial import struck
her most unpleasantly. M. de Menestreau perceived it^
and realized that it was time to have recourse to his strong-
est means of persuasion.

Go with me. I beseech you on my knees,” he pleaded,
falling at Camille’s feet with a grace that the gi’eatest of
actors might well have envied.

Mile. Monistrol, surprised and frightened, drew back,
but he seized her hands and covered them with burning
kisses.

Let me go,” she cried, trying to release her hands.

But George held them firmly. Springing to his feet,
he passed his arm around her waist, and drew her to his
heart in spite of her frantic efforts to free herself.

Suddenly a heavy hand was laid upon M. de Menes-
treau’s shoulder, and a voice cried:

Eelease that lady, you scoundrel!”

George de Menestreau’s grasp relaxed, and he turned,
furious wibli passion, while Camille sunk half fainting into
an arm-chair.

She had caught a glimpse of a woman’s face, and she
thought she must be dreaming.

But George had recognized the intruder, and he sprung
upon her, saying with an oath:

So you have betrayed me! Ah, well, you shall die.
I’ll wring your neck for you!”

‘^Not here. Monsieur Tergowitz,” tranquilly replied
the Baron de Fresnay, suddenly emerging from the dining-
room, where he had been hiding behind the portiere.

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWIf.

183

Madame de LugOsS told me you were here/’ resumed
the baron, with astonishing composure, ^^and insisted
upon my acting as her escort. ' She feels the need of an
explanation with you.”

Then, advancing, hat in hand, toward the terrified
Camille, he said, gently:

Pardon this most unceremonious intrusion into your
home, mademoiselle. I flatter myself, however, that you
will thank me by and by, for having presented myself
here without your permission. Besides, I have already
had the honor of meeting you under circumstances which
I am sure you have not forgotten. 1 was with my most
intimate friend, Julien Gbmozac, on a certain eventful
evening, you recollect.” Camille made no reply. She
did not yet understand the full import of his words, but
M. de Menestreau turned as pale as death.

will now give Madame de Lugos a chance to speak,”
Presnay continued, turning to him. You know her very
well, it seems, and she must think a great deal of you, as
she lias come here in search of you.”

Enough!” replied M. de Menestreau. Stand aside,
and let me pass. I know you no more than I know this
woman.”

Fresnay showed no intention of obeying this peremptory
order, however, and Mme. de Lugos, shaking her clinched
fist at tlie speaker, cried vehemently:

^^You dare to deny me, wretch! Tell me to my face
that you have not been my lover. I defy you to do it.”

You shall answer to me for this scene, sir,” exclaimed
George de Menestreau, white with rage. You are the
sole cause of it, and — ”

Silence, you scoundrel!” cried the pretended countess.

A gentleman does not fight with a villain like you. It
is not by the hand of a baron that you will meet your
death. Oh, you need not scowl at me. I know what it
may cost me to denounce you, but that makes no difference
to me. So you think to desert me just when it becomes
in your power to marry me, for I have been a widow since
day before yesterday! Ah! well, you shall perish on the
guillotine, thief! assassin! Yes, assassin!”

^MViiat do you say?” cried Fresnay, in pretended as-
tonishment.

^^You do not know all,” continued Mme. de Lugos,

184

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWJSf.

passionately. ^^You think him only an adventurer, but
I — I will tell you what he is. He began by robbing his
father, who died of grief and mortification. Then he be-
came a gambler, and after cheating at cards, again and
again, he became a circus performer, in order to escape the
gendarmes who were in pursuit of him. I met him, and
was fool enough to fall in love with him. I had much
better have hung myself, then I should not have had to
end my days in the penitentiary as I shall now — And if
that were all he had done! But the rest, can* you not
guess? If you and your friend Gernozac had not been
so blind, Zig-Zag would have been in prison a fortnight
ago.'’

Zig-Zag!” repeated Mile. Monistrol, turning inquir-
ingly to George de Menestreau, who, with a scornful shrug
of the shoulders, replied:

The woman is mad!”

Villain!” shrieked the pretended countess, now nearly
frantic with rage, ^Mve will see if I am mud! Look at
me, mademoiselle. You do not recognize me, because I
have dyed my hair, but you have seen me before. You
saw me the evening your father was killed — you saw me on
the Place du Trdne. It was I who had you turned out of
the show which you had entered while pursuing your
father’s murderer.”

Camille uttered a wild cry, and looked at Menestreau
with eyes distended with horror.

Do you recognize him now?” continued Amanda, who
could scarcely contain herself.

^^No, no! It can not be! It is impossible!” murrnurgd
the girl.

You will not believe me because the scoundrel rescued
you from two scamps on the Plaine Saint-Denis. Oh! he
knew what he was doing. He had made inquiries and
learned that you were rich. That very night he began to
deceive me. I was with him in the brick house when
that brute Courapied fell into the cellar with his brat, and
you made your escape. Guess what he told me before he
started out after you. He said that he was going to
murder you on the highway, and I was fool enough to be-
lieve him. He had his plans. He hoped that you would
be attacked, and you were, and he appeared upon the scene
just ill time to rescue you. Your gratitude was so great

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWH.

185

at you fell in love with him on the spot, and if I had
,ot come here to warn you to-day, you would have married
im before the end of another week. But I am here, and
'on shall not fall into his clutches. You have never done
e any harm. It is upon him that I wish to wreak my
'engeance, not upon you.

Come, baron, there must be a servant somewhere
ibout the house. Call her, and send her for two police-
len to arrest Zig-Zag and me.’’

Fresnay seemed in no haste to obey. He had not fore-
leen that matters would come to a climax so quickly, and
e began to repent of having subjected Mile. Monistrol

fo such a trying scene.

The poor girl looked ready to faint, and M. de Menes-
treau had the audacity to turn to her, and say:

^^You must understand, mademoiselle, that I scorn to
Jefend myself; for you know as well as I do that I am
fcot Zig-Zag. You have seen him, or rather you have seen
pis hands.”

I Yes,” faltered Camille.

j His hands!” repeated the pretended countess. They
jftre white and slender, but if you imagine that they are not
ptrong enough to strangle a man, you are very much mis-
taken. You do not know Zig-Zag.- He has the strength
of four ordinary men. He fought with our Hercules once
at the Neuilly fair, and conquered him with those same
small hands.”

Ho, no! his are not the hands of the assassin! They
.were of enormous size. And then that crooked thumb,—'
those fingers, hooked like claws!”

AVould you recognize them if you should see them
again, mademoiselle?” inquired Fresnay.

^^Yes.”

Well, I will show them to you.”

And he drew from his overcoat pocket the steel gaunt-
lets he had found on the Rue Mozart.

Mile. Monistrol recoiled in horror, and closed her eyes
to shut out the sight of those instruments of death.

I see, now, why you set such store by your box!” cried
Amanda. If yon had not sent Yigoureux to fetch it,
we should never have been caught. How your doom is
sealed, and mine, too. We both have a through ticket
for Mazas, old fellow!”

186

Zm-ZAG, THE-CLOWK.

Zig-Zag struck his accomplice a heavy blow with his-
fist, pushed Fresnay aside, and darted out of the room.

You shall not escape me/’ cried the tight-rope dancer,
starting off in hot pursuit.

Fresnay hastened to the assistance of Mile. Monistrol
who had fallen back in a dead faint, for he was not at all
anxious to overtake the interesting couple. He was only
too glad to get rid of the Countess de Lugos.

She might have made her escape and Zig-Zag also, for
Brigitte had not returned from market, if Georget had
not been watching from the little tool- house in which he
had concealed himself.

When he saw them emerge from the cottage, he sprung
out and seized Zig-Zag by the leg, crying, ^^Help! help!
Murder! murder!”

Amanda, wild with rage, had overtaken her accomiDlice,
and was holding fast to his overcoat collar.

Just then, two policemen, attracted by Georget’s cries,
hastened up, and the coachman who had brought Amanda
and Fresnay to the house, jumped from his box and rushed
into the yard.

Zig-Zag, seeing the officers approaching, realized that
he was lost. He freed himself with a sudden jerk that
sent Georget reeling to the earth, and drew his ever-pres-
ent revolver from his pocket.

^^Kill me, villain!” cried Amanda, boldly confronting
him. I prefer it to ending my days in the penitentiary,,
and it will only increase your chance of ending yours oa
the guillotine.”

Zig-Zag fired, and the unfortunate woman fell, shot |
through the heart. He fired again, and this time the |
bullet passed through the shoulder of Georget, who had |
just staggered to his feet. Whth the third bullet he blew I
his own brains out. |

So the policemen on their entrance found two lifeless I
bodies and an unconscious child stretched out upon the
grass, and the coachman exclaimed loudly on recognizing
the lady he had brought from the Kue Mozart.

The coachman was not the' first to reach the scene of
bloodshed, however, for Julien Gemozac, who as usual
was not far off, had heard the shots.

He had come to see if what his father had told him in
relation to Mile. MonistroFs engagement was indeed true;;

ZIG-ZAG, THE CLOWN.

187

SO one can very readily believe that he wasted no time in
deploring the fate of his rival, but rushed into the house
Srbere he feared he should find Camille, too, a corpse.

As he flew up the steps, three at a time, he fell into the
arms of his friend Fresnay, who remarked tranquilly:

I Your lady love is in there. Go and console her.^^

Julien did not stop to ask any further explanation, but
hastened into the drawing-room, where he found Mile.
Monistrol lying back in an arrn-cbair, her eyes dilated with
horror, and her arms hanging inertly at her sides.

Are you hurt?’^ he cried, anxiously, seizing her hands.

She shook her head, but no sound came from her
jiarched lips.

The scoundrel tried to kill you, I am sure,^^ continued
Gemozac. Who saved you ?”

Then, seeing her still silent, he added:

I can guess. It was Fresnay. But you need have
no fear now. The villain is dead.”

He killed himself, did he not?”

I do not know. There is a woman and a man and a
child, all lying in a pool of blood.”

A child! Take me to him.”

She tried to rise, but Julien checked her.

Spare yourself the frightful sight,” he said. I don’t
know who the child is, but I recognize the woman. As
for the man — ”

The man is my father’s assassin.”

^MVhat?”

It is the truth. And I thought I loved him — I had
promised to marry him! Ah, why did he not kill me, too?”

Julien, utterly bewildered, knew not what to say in reply.

‘^You wish to die,” he murmured, reproachfully.

Have you forgotten that I love you?”

Do not say that. I am not worthy of you.”

Julien was about to protest, when Fresnay entered ab-
ruptly, and cried:

It is all over! Zig-Zag has inflicted punishment upon
himself, after sending Amanda to the other world. The
child is coming around all right, though the deuce take
me, if I know where he came from. He is dressed like a
restaurant waiter, and — ”

Georget! It is Georget! I must see him!” cried Mir&.
Monistrol.

188 ZIG-ZAG^ THE CLOWiq'. ■;

You will see him quite soon enough. The police are'
coming*^ to question you. Let me answer them for you.
But before they come, let me say a word to both of you.
You, Julien, are passionately in love with Mademoiselle
Monistrol, and to marry her is the one desire of your life.
It i^ no fault of yours, that you did not capture Zig-Zag, ,
and it was purely by chance that I succeeded in winning-
the prize mademoiselle offered, so I will not wrong her by
claiming it, Mauvais sujets like myself make miserable
husbands, so I very willingly relinquish my claim to you.

You, mademoiselle, made a great mistake, as not un-
frequently happens in such cases, but you were born to
make my friend happy. Give me your hand, I beseech
you,’’ Camille, deeply moved, extended it to Fresnay,
who placed it in that of Julien. That is as it should

be,” he said, with comical gravity. You are betrothed.

When will the wedding come off? I invite myself to it.
Now let me usher in the officers. I hear them coming up
the steps.”

The affair created a great deal of talk, but this has not
marred the happiness of the newly married pair.

They are traveling in Italy, and their honey- moon is
one of unclouded bliss. Camille is sad only when she
thinks of her father.

Fresnay has resumed his old habits, but is no more suc-
cessful in amusing liimself than formerly. There are times
when he even thinks with regret of Amanda, Countess
de Lugos.

Olga has gone to tell fortunes in the sunny south.

Georget is employed in the office of M. Gemozac, who
will insure him a prosperous future.

THE END.

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mance. By William Black. . . 10

71 A Struggle for Fame. By Mrs.

J. H. Riddell 20

72 Old Myddelton’s Money. By

Mary Cecil Hay 20

73 Redeemed by Love. By the

author of “ Dora Thorne ”... 20

74 Aurora Floyd. By Miss M. E.

Braddon 20

75 Twenty Years After. By Alex-

ander Dumas 20

76 Wife in Name Only. By the

author of ” Dora Thorne ”... 20

77 A Tale of Two Cities. By Chas.

Dickens 20

78 Madcap Violet. By Wm. Black 20

79 Wedded and Parted. By the

author of “ Dora Thorne ”... 10

NO. PRICE.

80 June. By Mrs. Forrester 20

81 A Daughter of Heth. By Wm.

Black 20

82 Sealed Lips. B3" Fortune Du

Boisgobey 20

83 A Strange Story. By Sir E. Bul-

wer Lytton 20

84 Hard Times. By Charles Dick-

ens 10

85 A Sea Queen. By W. Clark

Russell 20

86 Belinda. By Rhoda Broughton 20

87 Dick Sand ; or, A Captain at

Fifteen. By Jules Verne 20

88 The Privateersman. By Cap-

tain Marryat 20

89 The Red Eric. By R. M. Ballan-

tyne sk 10

90 Ernest Maltravers. By Sir E.

Bu 1 w er Ly tton 20

91 Barnaby Rudge. By Charles

Dickens 20

92 Lord Lynne’s Choice. By the

author of ” Dora Thorne ”... 10

93 Anthony Trollope’s Autobiogra-

phy 20

94 Little Dorrit. By Charles Dick-

ens. First half 20

94 Little Dorrit. By Charles Dick-

ens. Second half 20

95 The Fire Brigade. By R. M.

Ballantyne 10

96 Erling the Bold. By R. M. Bal-

lantyne 10

97 All in a Garden Fair. By Walter

Besant 20.

98 A Woman-Hater. By Charles

Reade 20

99 Barbara's History. B}^ Amelia

B. Edwards 20

100 20.000 Leagues Under the Seas.

By Jules A^erne 20

101 Second Thoughts. Bj- Rhoda

Broughton 20

102 The Moonstone. By AVilkie

Collins ' 20

103 Rose Fleming. By Dora Russell 10

104 The Coral Pin. By F. Du Bois

gobey 30'

105 A Noble AAHfe. By John Saun-

ders 20'

106 Bleak House. By Charles Dick-

ens. First half 20

106 Bleak House. By Charles Dick-

ens. Second half 20

107 Dombey and Son. By Charles

Dickens ' 40.

108 The Cricket on the Hearth, and

Doctor Marigold. By Charles
Dickens 10

109 Little Loo. By W. Clark Rus-

sell 20

110 Under the Red Flag. By Miss

M. E. Braddon 10

111 The Little School-master Mark.

By J. H. Shorthouse lOv

112 The AA'atersof Marah. By John

Hill 2a

THE SEASIDE LIBRARY —Pocket Edition.

NO. PRICE.

113 Mrs. Carr’s Companion. B}" M.

G. Wightwick 10

114 Some of Our Girls. By Mrs.

C J. Eiloart 20

115 Diamond Cut Diamond. By T.

Adolphus Trollope 10

116 Moths. By “ Ouida ” 20

117 A Tale of the Sliore and Ocean.

By W. H. G. Kingston 20

118 Loys, Lord Berresford. and Eric

Dering. By •“ The Duchess ”. 10

119 Monica, and A Rose Distill’d.

By “ The Duchess ” 10

120 Tom Brown’s School Pays at

Rugby. By Thomas Hughes 20

121 Maid of Athens. By Justin Mc-

Carthy 20

122 lone Stewart. Sy Mrs. B. Lynn

Linton 20

123 Sweet is True Love. By “ The

Ducliess” 10

124 Three Feathers. By William

Black 20

125 The Monarch of Mincing Lane.

By William Black 20

126 IGlmeny. By William Black. . . 20

127 Adrian Bright. By Mrs. Caddy 20

128 Afternoon, and Other Sketches.

By “Ouida” 10

129 Rossmoyne. By “ The Duch-

ess 10

130 The Last of the Barons. Bulwer

Lytton. 1st and 2d hatf, each 20

131 Our Mutual Friend. By Charles

Dickens. 1st and 2d half, each 20

132 Master'^Humphrey’s Clock. By

Charles Dickens 10

133 Peter the Whaler. By W. H. G.

Kingston 10

134 The Witching Hour. By “The

Duchess” 10

135 A Great Heiress. By R. E. Fran-

cillon 10

136 “That Last Rehearsal.” By

“The Duchess” 10

137 Uncle Jack. By Walter Besant 10

138 Green Pastures and Piccadilly.

By William Black 20

. 139 The Romantic Adventures of a

Milkmaid. By Thomas Hardy 10

140 A Glorious Fortune. By Walter

Besant 10

141 She Loved Him! By Annie

Thomas 10

142 Jenifer. By Annie Thomas 20

143 One False, Both Fair. J. B.

Harwood 20

144 Pi'omises of Marriage. By

Emile Gaboriau 10

145 “ Storm-Beaten God and The

Man. By Robert Buchanan. . 20

146 Love Elnds the Way. By Walter

Besant and James Rice 10

147 Rachel Ray. By Anthony Trol-

lope 20

148 Thorns and Orange-Blossoms.

By the author of “ Dora
Tiiorne” 10

NO. PRICE,

149 The Captain's Daughter. From

the Russian of Pushkin 10

150 For Himself Alone. By T. W.

Speight 10

151 The Ducie Diamonds. By C.

BlatVierwicJc 10

152 The Uncommercial Traveler.

By Charles Dickens 20

153 The Golden Calf. By MissM. E.

Braddon 20

154 Annan Water. By Robert Bu-

chanan 20

155 Lady Muriel’s Secret. By Jean

Middiemas 20

156 “ For a Dream’s Sake.” By Mrs.

Herbert Martin ^20

157 Milly’s Hero. By F. W. Robin

son 20

158 The Starling. By Norman Mac-

leod, D.D 10

159 A Moment of Madness, and

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